Jaguar has today (Wednesday 15th July 2009) announced that 300 production workers will be made redundant at its Halewood manufacturing plant in Merseyside.
The announcement comes just days after Jaguar held a glitzy launch for the all-new XJ luxury saloon at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, hiring American chat show host Jay Leno and supermodel Elle Macpherson for the occasion, among other celebrities.
But in the midst of the recession Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced a new round of job cuts, which it says is because production of the X-Type saloon at Halewood is about to end. The move takes the number of JLR redundancies to 2,500 this year, and the maker has also confirmed there will be a further three-week shutdown at the plant this year to curb costs. Halewood also produces the Land Rover Freelander.
However, the Merseyside plant is expected to get the go-ahead to produce the new small Range Rover model, set for sale in 2011, and if that happens the Government will unlock a £27m grant to help start production and JLR will also get a £340m loan from the European Investment Bank.
