Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to cut up to 5,000 jobs in the new year.
As the car manufacturer struggles amid Brexit uncertainty, falling sales and a weaker demand in China, it is set to embark on a cost-cutting strategy to save £2.5 billion.
Earlier this year, the group axed 1,000 temporary contract employees at the plant in Solihull, whilst also reducing another 1,000 permanent employees to a three-day working week.
“Jaguar Land Rover notes media speculation about the potential impact of its ongoing charge and accelerate transformation programmes,” said Jaguar Land Rover.
“As announced when we published our second-quarter results, these programmes aim to deliver £2.5 billion of cost, cash and profit improvements over the next two years. Jaguar Land Rover does not comment on rumours concerning any part of these plans.”
The fall in diesel sales has hit the company amid concerns over high levels of air pollution. Most of the group’s previous car sales were diesel, making the carmaker vulnerable to the government crackdown.
The value of some used diesel cars has plunged by as much as 26% since the start of 2018.
Over Jaguar Land Rover’s plan to axe jobs, a spokesperson from Unite said: “Unite is not aware of any further job losses to those already announced and planned for early in the new year at Jaguar Land Rover, Unite also expects ongoing transparency regarding the difficult current climate the automotive sector is operating in the UK and its impact with the company.”
“Unite will continue to press the carmaker for assurances over the jobs and skills of our members who have worked tirelessly over the past decade to make the company the global success story it is today.”