Jaguar Land Rover to Cut 4,000 Jobs Amid Cost-Cutting Measures

LONDON (AP) — Jaguar Land Rover announced on Monday that it will reduce its global workforce by 4,000 jobs as part of a strategy to cut costs and enhance its competitiveness against Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. The company aims to achieve savings of 1.7 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) over the next two years to better position itself during the industry's transition to electrification. Chief Executive PB Balaji stated, "The automotive industry faces significant challenges, with technological change amidst intense competition and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty." The job cuts are expected to facilitate investments of 15 to 18 billion pounds ($20-24 billion) over the next five years in electrification and digital technologies. Jaguar Land Rover, known for producing the Range Rover and Discovery, has experienced declining profits and sales due to competition from lower-priced Chinese electric vehicles, rising costs, and the impact of tariffs imposed by the U.S. government. The tariffs include a 10% import tax on British-made cars, increasing to 27.5% after the first 100,000 vehicles produced annually. Additionally, a cyberattack last year disrupted production for a month, further affecting sales. The company, which is owned by India's Tata Motors, manufactures most of its vehicles in the U.K. and employs approximately 34,000 people there, with the majority of job cuts anticipated to impact U.K. operations. This announcement coincided with Treasury Chief John Healey's commitment to support the growth of Britain's economy and assist businesses facing rising costs. However, Prime Minister Andy Burnham's office indicated that the government would not consider a bailout for Jaguar Land Rover. In a related development, Volkswagen recently revealed a cost-cutting plan that includes cutting 50,000 jobs and reducing its model lineup by half to address competition from China and the effects of U.S. tariffs.