Jaguar factory saved as Tata pumps in £5 billion
Oct 16 2010 by Jon Griffin, Birmingham Mail
JAGUAR Land Rover is to pump £5 billion into the Midlands’ biggest manufacturer, creating thousands of new UK jobs – and the firm’s iconic Castle Bromwich factory is safe for at least ten years.
The death sentence was at last lifted from the plant yesterday, as first revealed by the Birmingham Mail, in a remarkable about-turn by JLR owners Tata.
Just over a year after stunning the West Midlands with a scheme to close one of its two regional factories, JLR delighted its 16,000-strong UK workforce with plans for new models and volume growth.
The company is ploughing in £5 billion, all three manfacturing plants at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood will be retained, a range of new models will be introduced and an industry-leading pay deal is recommended for acceptance.
And JLR said it would create thousands of new jobs in Britain over the next decade as increases in the model range boost global volumes across its markets worldwide.
Chief executive Ralf Speth said: “We have ambitious plans for growth and the success of our products around the world and this agreement will allow us to accelerate and realize those plans.
“The agreement is a great deal for our workers and the company and we can now really get on with working together to achieve an even more exciting future for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
“We have already started by beginning to hire 1,500 new employees to support the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque at Halewood.
“Our parent company Tata supported us through the recession and our employees also made sacrifices but now we are seeing a great turnaround in the business. This is truly the beginning of a new era for Jaguar Land Rover.”
The terms of the agreement include a pay rise of five per cent for employees next month – with a further rise of at least three per cent next November.
New recruits will come in on lower rates of pay, receiving lower shift premiums, but existing employees are unaffected and there will be an extension of performance-related pay for salaried employees.
