Production of Jaguar cars is to
end at one of its main UK
factories, with the loss of more than 1,100 jobs.
About 750 white collar
workers and 400 production staff will lose their jobs at the Brown’s Lane site
in Coventry,
but Ford, which owns the company, said there will be no compulsory redundancies.
The firm tried to sweeten
the blow by announcing that it will be creating 300 new jobs at its Aston
Martin plant in nearby Gaydon.
Union leaders were given
the news at a meeting with senior Ford and Jaguar executives in the West
Midlands.
Kevin Curran, GMB general
secretary, condemned the job cuts.
“The GMB condemns the
atrocious way Jaguar has treated a loyal workforce. GMB members, 48 of whom
work at Browns Lane,
will fight the job cuts alongside our fellow trade unions,” he said.
“We stand in solidarity
against yet another colossal blow for British manufacturing. If that blow was
not enough, many smaller companies in the region whose business is to supply
Jaguar are also likely to be hit, with jobs thrown into doubt because of one
reckless corporate decision.”
