Jaguar’s UK headquarters faces closure as further steps are taken to restore the manufacturer to profitability after production cuts were announced last week.
The Brown’s Lane plant in Coventry employs about 2 500 workers and will probably be first in line when one of the three Jaguar factories gets shut down.
Last week the company announced that it would be cutting production at its three plants, with no production planned for Fridays. This was after Jaguar reported a drop in its US sales. The US constitutes one of Jaguar’s biggest markets, accounting for more than half its sales.
Sister company Land Rover is also in the grip of major change with meetings being held between unions and management to prevent the closure of its Solihull plant.
The parties have been working on a “road map” to boost the factory’s competitiveness. It is aimed at improving the plant’s viability and bring it up to world-class standards within five years.
Head of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group in Europe Mark Fields met with managers and union officials on Wednesday to review the group’s progress after an interim report was handed to shop stewards.
