Jaguar Land Rover is trimming roughly 12% of its 34,000-strong UK workforce, and it will do it without a check from the British government.
The automaker plans to cut 4,000 roles over the next two years to save 1.7 billion pounds, according to The Guardian. The reductions fall on salaried and management staff, including marketing and research and development. Hourly factory workers are reportedly safe for now. JLR intends to start with voluntary departures, and the union representing employees is pushing for retraining and redeployment for at least some of those affected.
CEO PB Balaji framed it as a "transformation," saying the company will "reduce our global workforce by around 4,000 roles over the next two years" and is "committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect."
Whatever the phrasing, 4,000 people are looking for new jobs.
If JLR was banking on the government to cover the shortfall, it needs a new plan. Jonathan Reynolds, the UK's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, has already ruled out handing the company any money, per the BBC. He is expected to meet with JLR and union representatives to discuss limiting losses.
"If this is about making sure over time that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that's the conversation we need to have," Reynolds told the BBC.
The cuts arrive after a brutal 2026. JLR killed the Land Rover Discovery Sport, lost its North American CEO, and - thanks to tariffs - decided to shift Defender production to the United States in the coming years. On the Jaguar side, there's nothing new to sell.
That changes, in theory, on Oct. 6, when Jaguar unveils the Type 1 electric luxury sedan in New York. Expected to sticker around $130,000, the Type 1 ditches physical buttons, quilted leather, and even a conventional rear window in favor of camera feeds. With Land Rover carrying the revenue and Jaguar down to a single six-figure EV for the next couple of years, the pressure to keep the lights on sits squarely on the SUV side.
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