MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK unions ready to challenge Jaguar and Land Rover restructuring

The traditional British brands now belong to Indian giant Tata

British unions have condemned plans by car giant Jaguar Land Rover to close one of its UK plants. The firm said it would decide next year whether to shut its factory at Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands, which makes Jaguars, or its site at Solihull, which makes Range Rovers.

The company said there would be no compulsory redundancies involved in the closure, adding that up to 800 new jobs would be created at Halewood on Merseyside, where a new Range Rover will be built.

The firm, owned by Indian giant Tata, employs 14,500 workers in the UK, including 5,000 workers in Solihull, 2,000 in Castle Bromwich, 1,800 at Halewood as well as other staff at sites including engineering and research centres in Gaydon and Whitley in the West Midlands.

Unions expressed dismay at the announcement and made it clear they would fight plans to close the firm's final salary scheme to new entrants. Officials also warned there were plans to recruit new staff on wages 20% lower than those of current employees.

Dave Osborne, national officer of Unite, said: “Some of the problems the company faces today exist as a result of past management failures. These failures were at the hands of the same team who today want our members to lose their pensions. Unite's members will not be paying for management's incompetence and we will not stand by while those responsible continue to wreak havoc on this business.”

Caroline Spelman, Conservative MP for Meriden, said it was a “bitter blow” for the West Midlands, adding that the region's two factories provided work for many supply firms. The news followed recent closures of other motor factories in the West Midlands, including the Rover plant at Longbridge, Peugeot in Coventry and LDV in Birmingham. The mood inside the Castle Bromwich plant was said to be downcast following the announcement.

Jaguar Land Rover said its new business plan was designed to increase its global competitiveness, drive growth and sustained profitability, and respond to the challenges of climate change. The company has already responded to the downturn in the past year by cutting production by 100,000, axing more than 2,000 jobs, freezing pay and cancelling bonuses.