UK's Jaguar Land Rover to cut nearly 10% of workforce under turnaround plan

By Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Britain's Jaguar Land Rover said on Monday it would cut nearly 10% of its workforce through voluntary redundancies over the next two years, as the car industry faces heightened pressures including from Chinese competition and tariffs.

The luxury carmaker, which is owned by India's Tata Motors and has 17 sites in England, said it would cut around 4,000 jobs, targeting £1.7 billion ($2.30 billion) in savings and seeking to lower its break-even point towards 300,000 vehicles.

JLR employs about 43,000 people globally, including 34,000 in Britain, but did not say where the jobs would be cut.

"The automotive industry faces significant challenges, with technological change amidst intense competition and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty," JLR Chief Executive PB Balaji said in a statement.

Last week, German carmaker Volkswagen approved plans to cut another 50,000 jobs in its attempt to counter painful tariffs, overcapacity and aggressive Chinese rivals.

JLR is also recovering from a damaging cyberattack that forced a prolonged production shutdown and disrupted suppliers in 2025.

The job cuts are a blow for the UK government as it tries to spur a slow-growing economy. Finance minister John Healey delivered a speech just miles from JLR's Coventry headquarters on Monday in which he tried to set out a brighter vision of the country's economic future ahead of what is expected to be a tough budget in late October.

COST CUTS AND COMPETITION

JLR said it would launch five new products over the next 12 months and continue investing £15 billion to £18 billion over the next five years in electrification, digital technologies, advanced manufacturing and customer experience improvements.

Nevertheless, the company said it had to make savings and simplify its structure to make the business more resilient. The voluntary redundancy programme will primarily affect 26,000 employees in JLR's salaried and management workforce.

Business minister Jonathan Reynolds spoke with Balaji on Monday and is due to meet with the firm and trade unions later this week.

"We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families, and the wider communities, and we know that current market conditions are challenging for the automotive sector globally," Prime Minister Andy Burnham's spokesperson said.

Local mayor Richard Parker announced a £500,000 package to support employees who choose voluntary redundancy.

($1 = 0.7384 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James and Susan Fenton)