UP TO 5,000 Jaguar Land Rover jobs could be lost in the new year under a £2.5billion savings plan, according to national media reports.
Contacted by the Observer, JLR refused to confirm or deny the national newspaper reports which first emerged in the Financial Times.
It reported the job losses were expected throughout the UK.
Tens of thousands of jobs across the region could also be under threat as they form part of the supply chain for the car manufacturer which has its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry.
Around 40,000 staff work at sites which also include Lode Lane in Solihull and Castle Bromwich.
As we reported, JLR has experienced a decline in sales in 2018.
It blamed movement away from diesel cars and higher government diesel taxes, uncertainty over Brexit and decline in demand in China.
In light of the latest reports a company spokesperson told us: “Jaguar Land Rover notes media speculation about the potential impact of its ongoing Charge and Accelerate transformation programmes.
“As announced when we published our second quarter results, these programmes aim to deliver £2.5billion of cost, cash and profit improvements over the next two years.
“Jaguar Land Rover does not comment on rumours concerning any part of these plans.”
Last week, 250 agency jobs at Lode Lane were confirmed to be lost and some permanent staff offered voluntary redundancy.
In October, there was an unexpected two-week shutdown in production at Lode Lane.
This came weeks after 2,000 agency staff members at JLR’s Castle Bromwich factory were told they will switch to a three-day week until Christmas.
The company announced the lay-off of 1,000 workers across its West Midlands plants in April.
