Off-road
vehicle maker Land Rover has been forced to shed 200 jobs and cut production of
its top-selling model because it cannot get enough engines.
A
Land Rover spokesman said the firm will have to cut production of its
Freelander model because engine maker BMW has refused to raise engine
production from 32,000 to 50,000.
Ford,
which bought the company after the break-up of the Rover Group last year, had
requested more engines in order to meet demand.
The
Freelander is now the best-selling off-road vehicle in Europe, but sales are
expected to drop 12 per cent to 74,000 because of the engine shortage.
Union
leaders at the company’s Solihull plant were told last week that three-shift
production of Freelander will be cut to two shifts at the beginning of April.
