The UK Business Secretary, Jonny Reynolds, said on the BBC that the government will not provide a bailout for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) amid reports of job cuts. JLR is implementing a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management staff, with approximately 300,000 vehicles in its break-even target. The company aims to save £1.7 billion over two years by simplifying its organization and improving efficiency. Unions are criticizing the government's response, claiming that under-investment and high energy costs are crippling the industry.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced plans to cut up to 4,000 jobs, which is about 12% of its UK workforce, as part of a bid to save £1.7 billion over the next two years. The company, owned by Tata Motors, has been affected by a cyberattack last year that forced it to halt production for over a month, as well as falling sales and rising costs due to tariffs and Brexit uncertainty.
The job cuts will mainly affect salaried and management team members, with some reports suggesting that compulsory job losses may also be considered. The UK government has ruled out providing a bailout to JLR, with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stating that it is not his department's role to "intervene and run businesses".
The company has stated that it needs to adapt to evolving global market conditions, including the shift towards electric vehicles, and has been working on strengthening its "house of brands" and transforming its product portfolio over the past three years. JLR employs 34,000 people across its three sites in England, with a further 120,000 jobs supported in the supply chain.
The news comes as a blow to Andy Burnham's pledge to "reindustrialise" Britain, which was made just weeks ago. The government has also been promoting the UK car industry, providing funding for electric vehicle manufacturing and reducing taxes on businesses that invest in clean energy. However, it seems unlikely that this will be enough to prevent significant job losses at JLR.
Written for “Jaguar Land Rover Job Cuts” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.
JLR confirmed in a statement that it is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business.
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it → confirm → business
He told Laura Kuenssberg’s show on the BBC: “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.
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it → tell → people
“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.
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we → make → time
“Of course you want to mitigate any job losses.”
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you → want → losses
Asked if there could be financial support to protect those jobs, he added: “Not if it’s to bail people out.
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it → ask → people
If it’s about long-term investment in the future, we do invest alongside industry on that.”
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we → ’ → that
JLR continues its recovery from a major cyberattack that forced it to halt production last year.
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that → continue → production
A JLR spokesperson said: “Over the past three years, we have strengthened our House of Brands and transformed our product portfolio for the next generation.
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we → say → generation
“As we deliver the next phase of our strategy, we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7 billion of savings over the next two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles.
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we → deliver → vehicles
To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency and build greater resilience.”
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we → achieve → resilience
The company confirmed it had informed colleagues and trade union partners of the voluntary redundancy programme, adding it would “share further information with our colleagues first”.
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it → confirm → colleagues
A Government spokesperson said: “We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.
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this → say → workers
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“We have taken significant action to back the UK automotive industry by lowering electricity bills for manufacturers, providing £4 billion of capital and R&D funding to manufacture zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and launching a £2 billion electric car grant to encourage people to buy EVs (electric vehicles).”
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We → read → EVs
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments.
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Death → say → governments
Years of under-investment, unsustainable ZEV mandates and high industrial energy costs are crippling the industry.
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Years → cripple → industry
“The business secretary, Jonny Reynolds and myself are meeting the CEO of JLR next week.
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secretary → meet → JLR
Unite was pivotal in securing the £1.5 billion government facility for JLR after the cyber attack.
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Unite → secure → attack
“Once again, we will leave no stone unturned to support these workers.
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we → leave → workers
It cannot be acceptable that workers again are made to pay the price.”
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workers → make → price
JLR revealed last month that revenues fell by 9.6% year-on-year to £6 billion for the three months to June 30, driven by a 9.2% decline in car volumes.
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revenues → reveal → volumes
It came after production was heavily disrupted by a raft of factors, including a fire at a supplier’s factory.
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production → come → factory
JLR briefly paused production for its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at its Solihull plant in March after a major fire at the factory of a component manufacturer in Norway.
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JLR → pause → Norway
Car sales volumes have also been impacted by Jaguar’s decision to stop the production of numerous diesel and petrol-run models, including its F-Pace.
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volumes → impact → Pace
Jaguar is shifting its focus to electric models as part of a strategy overhaul to boost the brand’s fortunes.
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Jaguar → shift → fortunes
JLR reported a pre-tax profit, before exceptional items, of £109 million for the quarter, compared with a £351 million profit a year earlier.
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JLR → report → profit
Profit margins were knocked by a one-off provision linked to US fuel economy rules, which partially offset reduced US-UK tariffs.
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which → knock → tariffs
Earlier this year, JLR said it planned to cut around £1.7 billion in costs over the coming years to help support its recovery.
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it → say → recovery
The firm has been recovering from the cyberattack last year, which had a major impact on the business, its employees and the wider UK economy.
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which → recover → business
The car maker was forced to stop production at its UK factories for five weeks from September 1 last year, which weighed on sales in late 2025 and led to heavy financial losses.
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which → force → losses
