Land Rover cuts 1,300 jobs in West Midlands

Land Rover has announced 1,300 job cuts at its West Midlands plant as part of a voluntary redundancy programme.

The car manufacturer described the redundancy terms as "an industry-leading package", but declined to give further details to the Guardian newspaper.

The move follows a decision to shift production of the Land Rover Freelander from Solihull in the West Midlands, which employs about 8,000 people, to Halewood on Merseyside.

Roger Maddison, national officer for the Amicus trade union, said it was "a sad day, but entirely expected".

"These jobs may never be replaced in the West Midlands, which is a tragedy, but some solace is that these jobs will at least remain in the UK and that the redundancy terms being offered to people are the best the industry has ever seen," he said.