A quarter of Jaguar Land Rover’s workers will down tools for two weeks later this month in the latest sign of a sales slowdown for the troubled car manufacturer.

The 10,000 workers at JLR’s Solihull plant will continue to receive pay during their time off but union bosses said the shutdown would come as “deeply troubling” news for staff.

The company has already cut 1,000 jobs this year and has moved some workers at its Castle Bromwich plant onto a three-day week until Christmas amid uncertainty over Brexit and a backlash against diesel cars.

It is also shifting production of its Land Rover Discovery model over to Slovakia and has reduced production of Land Rovers at its Halewood plant outside Liverpool.

A JLR spokesman said the shutdown was “one example” of actions the company is taking to “align supply to reflect fluctuating demand globally”.

The Solihull plant makes models including the Range Rover, Range Rover Velar and Jaguar X Pace. JLR said customers who had already placed an order would not be affected.

Last month Ralf Speth, chief executive, warned a bad Brexit deal could cause JLR, which currently employs around 40,000 workers, to shed “tens of thousands” of jobs.

He said: “Currently, I do not even know if any of our manufacturing facilities in the UK will be able to function on March 30.

“Bluntly, we will not be able to build cars if the motorway to and from Dover becomes a car park, where the vehicle carrying parts is stationary.”

The Unite union laid blame for the production cutbacks at the Government’s door, accusing ministers of unfairly maligning diesel cars, “shambolic” handling of the Brexit negotiations and “half-hearted support” for the shift to electric cars.

Unite’s Howard Beckett said: “News of the shutdown will be deeply troubling for JLR workers and their colleagues in the supply chain. JLR is a powerhouse of the West Midlands economy and a source for decent well paid jobs.”