Jaguar Land Rover job cuts prompt Business Secretary meeting as 4,000 roles face axe

Jaguar Land Rover job cuts of up to 4,000 roles are expected to be formally announced on Monday, as Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds prepares to meet the firm’s leadership team early next week following talks with JLR chief executive PB Balaji.

JLR, the UK’s largest car manufacturer, has confirmed it is opening a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management staff. The company employs about 30,000 people across the UK, with factories at Solihull in the West Midlands and Halewood in Merseyside, and the job losses are expected to be spread over two years, according to The Times.

What JLR says about the redundancy programme

A JLR spokesperson set out the company’s position: ‘Over the past three years, we have strengthened our House of Brands and transformed our product portfolio for the next generation. As we deliver the next phase of our strategy we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7 billion of savings over the next two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles. To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency and build greater resilience.’

The company said it had informed colleagues and trade union partners of the programme and would ‘share further information with our colleagues first’ before making broader announcements.

The cuts come at a difficult moment for JLR. The firm has been recovering from a major cyberattack that forced it to halt production at its UK factories for five weeks from 1 September last year, weighing on sales in late 2025 and causing heavy financial losses. Revenues fell by 9.6% year-on-year to £6 billion for the three months to 30 June, driven by a 9.2% decline in car volumes, JLR revealed last month.

Pre-tax profit, before exceptional items, came in at £109 million for the quarter, down from £351 million in the same period a year earlier. Profit margins were also knocked by a one-off provision linked to US fuel economy rules, which partially offset the benefit of reduced US-UK tariffs.

Production difficulties have compounded the financial pressure. JLR briefly paused output of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at Solihull in March after a major fire at the factory of a component manufacturer in Norway. Car sales volumes have also been affected by Jaguar’s decision to stop producing several diesel and petrol models, including the F-Pace, as the brand shifts its focus towards electric vehicles (EVs).

Jaguar Land Rover job cuts draw union and government responses

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham was direct in her criticism: ‘Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments. Years of under-investment, unsustainable ZEV (zero-emission vehicle) mandates and high industrial energy costs are crippling the industry. There must be further action.’ Graham added that intensive government discussions had taken place over the weekend to examine how to mitigate the job losses at JLR.

The UK Government acknowledged the concern for workers and their families. A government spokesperson said: ‘We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.’ The spokesperson pointed to measures including lowering electricity bills for manufacturers, providing £4 billion of capital and research and development funding to manufacture zero-emission vehicles, and launching a £2 billion electric car grant to encourage people to buy EVs.

Unite represents many of the workers affected, and Graham’s comments reflect the union’s view that government support for the sector has not kept pace with the scale of industrial change underway.

JLR said earlier this year that it planned to cut around £1.7 billion in costs over the coming years to support its recovery. The formal announcement of the voluntary redundancy programme, expected on Monday, will give affected workers and their representatives the fuller picture the company has said it intends to share with colleagues first.