• Analysis
Jaguar Land Rover loss hits £451m in quarter with 4,000 job cuts
Jaguar Land Rover reported a £451m quarterly loss while cutting 4,000 jobs, recording £530m in restructuring costs for the July-to-September period even as revenues rose to £5.9bn.
The Jaguar Land Rover loss for the three months to the end of September came to £451m, weighed down by a £530m restructuring charge linked to 4,000 job cuts announced near the end of the period. Revenues still rose to £5.9bn between July and September.
A £530m bill for redundancies
The restructuring costs dominated the quarter's accounts, but the company was operationally profitable once those charges were set aside, according to the report. Falling sales in China and the Middle East were the drag on the underlying business.
- •JLR recorded £530m in costs from the job cuts announced near the end of the period
- •Revenues rose to £5.9bn between July and September
- •Without the restructuring charge, operations scraped into profit
Most exits voluntary, from end of November
JLR, Britain's largest automotive employer, expects the vast majority of the 4,000 job cuts to be achieved via voluntary redundancies, with 3,000 already confirmed. Most of those affected will leave at the end of November.
Balaji urges an end to new trade barriers
Chief executive PB Balaji said on Friday that the onslaught of competition from China meant the UK and EU should stop plans to erect new post-Brexit trade barriers. The industry is lobbying to delay the implementation of rules of origin on 1 January, which threaten to impose 10% tariffs on UK-EU electric cars using Asian batteries. The EU is also considering made in Europe rules that would lock UK-made cars out of subsidies.
"Now is the time for actually fostering this entire electrical ecosystem," Balaji said.
He added: "We just need time to ensure all these plans start coming into fruition."
Electric push and Stellantis deal
JLR, owned by India's Tata group, wrote off billions in China investments in 2019 as a new wave of Chinese carmakers led to massive overcapacity. It was also hit by a cyber-hack last year and is targeting US growth, with a deal in progress for Stellantis to manufacture Land Rovers for the first time.
- •Electric Land Rover production has begun, starting with the flagship Range Rover built in Solihull in the West Midlands
- •Electric versions of the Range Rover Sport, Defender and Defender Sport will follow
- •JLR also produces the luxury electric Jaguar Type 01, and Balaji said a new version of the Discovery is in development
Most of the 4,000 affected staff are set to leave at the end of November, while the industry lobbies to delay the rules-of-origin tariffs due on 1 January.
