Warwick and Leamington MP expresses concerns over Jaguar Land Rover redundancies

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has raised concerns about Jaguar Land Rover’s recent announcement that it will be making 4,000 redundancies across its operations worldwide.

The cuts will happen over the next two years and will mostly affect the car manufacturer’s head office at Whitley in Coventry.

Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Imagesplaceholder image
Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) also has local sites a Gaydon and Solihull.

Posting on his Facebook page last night (Sunday September 6), Mr Western said the news was “deeply concerning” and “will be extremely worrying for many staff and their families”.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western. Picture supplied.placeholder image
Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western. Picture supplied.

He added: “The past 18 months have been seriously tough for the company battling the uncertainty of Trump’s tariffs those first few weeks in April last year and the challenges that have followed.

"Then the cyber attack which could have been even more serious but the company fought its way through.

“If they were not enough, there are further challenges and I will be writing to the Government about additional actions that I believe should be taken to support and protect our businesses - a position I sense the Secretary of State may share too.

“I am expecting a briefing from the company tomorrow [today, Monday September 7].”

Corin Crane, the chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. Picture supplied.placeholder image
Corin Crane, the chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. Picture supplied.

The cyber-attack last year caused JLR, which has 43,000 employees globally, to shut down production for more than a month.

It has been said the car manufacturer is struggling with Chinese competition, US tariffs, and the transition to electric vehicles.

The company is making the redundancies in an attempt to save £1.7 billion over the next two years.

It is hoping to make the majority of the cuts through voluntary redundancy, with a window open until 4 October, but has said it would make compulsory redundancies with less generous terms if necessary.

Affected staff will know more in the coming days.

Chief executive PB Balaji has said JLR is "committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect" through the redundancy process.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has announced he will be meeting JLR bosses this week to "mitigate any job losses", but he has ruled out a Government bailout for the company.

Mr Reynolds will also be working with the relevant trade unions over the matter.

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has also had its say on the matter.

Corin Crane, the chamber’s chief executive, said: “This is worrying news for everyone concerned – for the company’s staff and for the supply chain which employs hundreds of thousands of people across the region.

“The automotive sector is being hampered by a range of global pressures and that was exacerbated for JLR when it suffered from a cyber-attack in 2025, which virtually ground the company to a halt.

“We saw the effect that had on the regional supply chain and, in fact, the whole of the UK economy.

“It’s vital that Government and all regional stakeholders recognise the sense of urgency and work together to ensure there is investment in the future of automotive and manufacturing in this region to help protect the industry, the thousands of people it employs and the wider economy.

“And, for those people who are directly affected by this announcement, there is support out there should they need it.”

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