LONDON, Sept 7 — British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover announced Monday a voluntary redundancy scheme following months of turmoil caused by a cyberattack and US President Donald Trump’s sector-wide tariffs.
British media reported that up to 4,000 roles could be removed, equivalent to around 10 per cent of JLR’s global workforce of more than 40,000 people, according to its website.
The vast majority, around 34,000 staff, are based in the UK.
“As we deliver the next phase of our strategy we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7 billion (RM9.3 billion) of savings over the next two years,” JLR said in a statement.
“We have informed our colleagues and trade union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business,” it said.
JLR said it would provide further detail later Monday, and UK business minister Jonathan Reynolds is scheduled to meet with the company’s management early this week.
The restructuring comes one year after a major cyberattack halted JLR’s production in Britain and severely affected its finances.
Owned by India’s Tata Motors, JLR was forced to halt production for more than a month, costing the company £196 million.
Hit also by US tariffs, the carmaker posted a loss of £244 million for its fiscal year ending in March, compared with a net profit of £1.8 billion in 2024-25.
“We must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency, and build greater resilience,” JLR said in its statement.
Seeking to move on from the cyberattack, the company last week opened orders for its new fully electric Range Rover.
It comes as European carmakers are facing increased pressure for their vehicles from Chinese manufacturers as the industry shifts toward electric vehicles.
German car giant Volkswagen said Thursday that its management and unions had agreed to axe a total of 100,000 jobs by the end of the decade, the biggest-ever restructuring in the global auto industry.
The company said it had approved a plan involving the reduction of around 50,000 jobs, on top of another 50,000 already agreed. — AFP
