Jaguar Land Rover set to announce "substantial" job cuts amid dropping demand

Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to announce "substantial" job cuts in the thousands, a source told Reuters, as the company faces double-digit drops in demand in China and a slump in sales for diesel in Europe. JLR swung to a first-half loss of 354-million pounds ($450 million) and had already in 2018 cut around 1,000 roles in Britain, shut its Solihull plant for two weeks and announced a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich site.

The Tata Motors-owned company has unveiled plans to cut costs and improve cash flows by 2.5 billion pounds including "reducing employment costs and employment levels." Those cuts will be "substantial" and run into the thousands, the source told Reuters. "The announcement on job losses will be substantial, affecting managerial, research, sales, design," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Production-line staff will not be affected "at this stage," said the source. The company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.