Hundreds of jobs could be at risk but Solihull plant to be upgraded for electric models

Britain’s biggest car manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, is to transfer all production of its Land Rover Discovery model from the West Midlands to a plant in Slovakia, potentially putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

A spokesman for JLR said the Slovakian plant had been developed over several years and the latest move was unconnected to the Brexit headwinds that led to it announcing 1,000 UK jobs would go in April. Its profits have also been dented by the decline in diesel sales, slumping to £364m pre-tax in the three months to the end of March, compared to £676m in the same period last year.

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The Labour MP Madeleine Moon, who is a member of the pro-remain campaign group Best for Britain, said: “This is truly shocking news. The automotive industry has been warning of the dangers facing their sector and now it appears the reality of Brexit is setting in.

“Jobs have already gone in a number of car factories. When will this government finally admit to the damage they’re causing and start to listen to groups like the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders who don’t want British cars stagnating in the slow lane?”

JLR said there would be a “significant investment and technology upgrade” in its Solihull factory, with the carmaker believed to be spending hundreds of millions of pounds to meet its low-carbon commitments. The manufacturer said it would also be investing in its plant at Halewood, Merseyside, to build the next generation Range Rover Evoque.

The move has also been welcomed locally in the Midlands as a step for the manufacturer to upgrade the Solihull plant to build new, electric models.

In the short-term, more work than anticipated will move to JLR’s new £1bn facility in Nitra, Slovakia, which is due to open at the end of the year and is expected to build the revamped Land Rover Defender.

JLR, owned by the Indian company Tata, had already signalled it would move a large amount of the production on the Discovery, which sold about 45,000 units last year, the lowest volume of the five models built in Solihull.

In a statement, JLR said: “This significant investment and technology upgrade in Solihull in order to accommodate our next generation of flagship Land Rover models, and the refit of our Halewood plant for the next Evoque, is proof that we remain committed both to the UK and to transformation and growth.”

Adding that job losses would come from agency staff employed at Solihull, the company said: “The decision to move the Land Rover Discovery to Slovakia and the potential losses of some agency employed staff in the UK is a tough one but forms part of our long-term manufacturing strategy as we transform our business globally.”

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The news fuelled more concern that jobs in car manufacturing could be at risk after Brexit. The motor industry has repeatedly warned that any possible border delays for parts would impose fresh burdens and deter manufacturers from continuing production in Britain.

The company has said it would make an electric option for each of its new models after 2020. David Bailey, the professor of industrial strategy at the University of Aston, said: “There has been speculation locally that they needed to free up space to make electric vehicles. There was concern that their first electric car, the I-Pace, was being made in Austria – people wanted that built here.



“If this move on the Discovery means producing electric cars here, overall that is a good thing. We want to see that transition to a low-carbon economy in the Midlands and we want to see the jobs here.

“JLR have been too slow in getting into hybrids and they have to speed up in getting fully into electric vehicles.”