Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed plans to axe 4,000 jobs across its global workforce over the next two years as part of efforts to slash costs by £1.7 billion.
The cuts are largely expected to impact office roles, with the majority of job losses affecting its UK operations, where around 34,000 staff in total are based.
Just under 10,000 are employed by the company overseas.
Chief executive PB Balaji said the group was “committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect” throughout the process.
It comes as JLR continues its recovery from a major cyber attack that forced it to halt production last year, but sales have since remained under pressure amid intense competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles, while it also tackles soaring costs and the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has already ruled out any government bailout after reports of the job losses emerged over the weekend.
Mr Reynolds has spoken to Mr Balaji and is set to meet the firm’s leadership team on Tuesday.
Mr Balaji said: “The automotive industry faces significant challenges, with technological change amidst intense competition and ongoing geo-political uncertainty.
“Through our growth reimagined strategy, JLR is moving decisively to strengthen our competitiveness and position the business for long-term success.”
Unite has been warning that a perfect storm has been hanging over the auto industry for years.
'Death by a thousand cuts' has been going on under the nose of successive governments. Years of underinvestment, unsustainable ZEV mandates and high industrial energy costs are…
— Sharon Graham (@UniteSharon) September 6, 2026
He added: “As part of this transformation, we will reduce our global workforce by around 4,000 roles over the next two years.
“We recognise this will be difficult news for colleagues affected and are committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect.
“Together, these actions will help build a stronger, more competitive JLR for all our stakeholders.”
JLR said over the weekend it was launching a voluntary redundancy programme, mostly among its 26,000 salaried and management employees rather than production workers.
The company makes most of its cars in factories across the UK, including at Solihull, West Midlands, and Halewood, Merseyside.
Downing Street acknowledged the impact of the announcement but made clear the Government was standing by its refusal to consider a bailout.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and the wider communities.
“And we know that current market conditions are challenging for the automotive sector globally.”
Liam Byrne, chairman of the Business and Trade Committee, said the job cuts were a “body blow for workers, families and communities across the West Midlands”.
He said: “Whether or not these redundancies are voluntary, we now need urgent assurances that maximum support will be deployed to help everyone affected find new work.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said the Combined Authority had put together a £500,000 support package for JLR workers who take voluntary redundancy and stressed “if more help is needed, we are ready to do more”.
He said: “These are highly skilled people and I want those skills to stay here in the West Midlands.
“We have employers across our automotive, advanced manufacturing, research and development and other growing industries who need those skills. Our job now is to bring those opportunities and these workers together.”
Mr Reynolds told Laura Kuenssberg’s show on the BBC on Sunday he would focus on helping “mitigate” job losses, but that there would be no government support for JLR.
He said: “A company the size of JLR, which is a huge British success story, at various times in its business cycle, the number of, directly, people it employs will change.
“If this is about making sure over time that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that’s the conversation we need to have.
“Of course you want to mitigate any job losses.”
Asked if there could be financial support to protect those jobs, he added: “Not if it’s to bail people out.
Trade union Unite is due to join Mr Reynolds in meeting JLR’s boss this week.
Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “While the cuts planned are not expected to impact the UK manufacturing footprint or its supply chain, we need to ensure that no stone is left unturned to mitigate these jobs losses in the highly skilled white collar workforce.
“There are clearly differences between the messages given to the workforce on timings and scope, from that said at the weekend, that need immediate clarification.”
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said: “Conservatives, business and the unions are clear – the ZEV mandate and punishing energy costs are crippling the British automotive industry. But Labour are not listening.”
Share