Jaguar Land Rover to axe hundreds of jobs amid £1.7billion cost-cutting mission

Iconic British automaker Jaguar Land Rover has outlined plans to cut hundreds of jobs following the devastating cyber attack it suffered last year.

The manufacturer confirmed that around 300 staff and managers would be cut in the cost-cutting push.

A statement from the brand clarified that any impacted staff would be supported alongside alternative roles where possible.

They will also be offered "the option of voluntary early exit", although this is unlikely to impact staff on the production line.

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JLR said: "As we evolve our operating model to accelerate the growth of our house of brands and deliver our next-generation vehicles, we are transforming our business to improve decision-making and performance.

"As part of our ongoing transformation initiatives, we have launched a limited redeployment and displacement programme."

Jaguar Land Rover has had a turbulent year following a major cyber attack that forced the brand to halt production at many of its sites for multiple weeks.

This included its manufacturing plants in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood in Merseyside, as well as a plant in Nitra, Slovakia.

It announced last month that it was planning to cut around £1.7billion in costs in the future to support the business after the IT attack.

Reports suggest that JLR aimed to make savings through cuts to certain areas, including materials, warranty and fixed costs.

Estimates suggest that the cyber attack cost the brand around £1.9billion as it continues to rebound from the incident.

A report from the Cyber Monitoring Centre found that it affected more than 5,000 UK organisations, with it registering as a "Category 3 seismic event" on a five-point scale.

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It stated that it was the most economically damaging cyber event to hit the UK, with most of the financial impact stemming from the loss of manufacturing output.

The hack came at a critical time for Jaguar Land Rover, and any other manufacturer, with September being one of the busiest periods of the year for new car sales.

Motorists flock to buy new vehicles to get their hands on the latest number plates, with "new reg day" being one of the biggest motivators for a rise in sales.

In addition to the cost-cutting measures, JLR set out a new strategy for the brand to reach double-digit revenue growth, with a particular focus on North America.

JLR plans to roll out new models, including the Range Rover Electric, Range Rover Sport Electric and the highly anticipated Jaguar Type 01.

One of the measures featured in the strategy included cost reductions of £1.7 billion to "reduce breakeven towards 300,000 units over the next two years".

CEO PB Balaji said: "As we enter a critical business delivery phase of our Reimagine strategy, launching five new products over the next two years across our incredible House of Brands, now is also the time to evolve our plan to offer global markets greater propulsion choice to unlock growth and build resilience.

"To truly manifest the power of our brands, we will increase our focus on North America, our biggest market. The rising demand for luxury products coupled with the strong preference we see for our brands signals significant growth potential."

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