Jaguar Land Rover to cut 4,000 jobs as Trump's tariffs take their toll

Jaguar Land Rover is to cut 4,000 jobs as it reels from the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs and a major cyber attack.

The British car manufacturer will carry out the redundancies over the two years in an effort to save around £1.7bn.

It marks a major escalation of JLR’s cost-cutting efforts after the company said in July it would axe around 300 roles .

The carmaker, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, employs more than 30,000 people in the UK.

JLR is under pressure to shore up its finances amid rising costs and a slump in sales. Revenues fell by almost 10pc in the first quarter, while pre-tax profits dropped by two thirds to £109m.

The manufacturer, whose largest market is North America, has been rocked by Mr Trump’s 10pc tariff on vehicle imports .

It is also still reeling from a crippling cyber attack that shut down production for more than a month and is estimated to have cost the company £1.9bn.

Supply chain disruption and tough competition from cut-price Chinese rivals have taken a further toll.

The cuts, first reported by the Sunday Times, represent a major setback to Andy Burnham’s pledge to re-industrialise Britain.

JLR’s global headquarters are in Coventry, while it operates major factories in manufacturing sites in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Merseyside.

Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, said he ⁠would meet with JLR’s chief executive this week to job cuts.

He told the BBC on Sunday that while he wanted to mitigate job losses, the business environment for carmakers was “challenging” in the UK and across Europe.

“If this is making sure over time that workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that’s the conversation we need to have,” Mr Reynolds said.

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite union, said there had been a “perfect storm” hanging over the UK’s automotive industry.

She added: “Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments.”

The union boss said she would meet Mr Reynolds and JLR chief executive PB Balaji week.

A spokesman for the Government said that “significant action” had been taken to support carmakers, including lowering electricity bills and creating subsidies for the manufacturing and sale of zero-emission vehicles.

It comes after JLR last month delayed the rollout of its all-electric Defender model , which had been expected after a full redesign of the standard model.

The redesign has been paused for two years, meaning the brand’s best-selling off-roader will not go all-electric until the 2030s.

JLR is not the only major car manufacturer rolling out sweeping cuts amid a slowdown in sales and growing competition from China.

Volkswagen this week confirmed plans to cut 50,000 jobs , marking the biggest programme of cost-cutting in the German car giant’s 89-year history.

A JLR spokesman said: “As we deliver the phase of our strategy we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7bn of savings over the two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles. To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency, and build greater resilience.

“Today, we informed our colleagues and trade union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business. We will further information with our colleagues first.”