JLR to keep both factories open
Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is to keep both its Birmingham area plants open. An official announcement is due this morning but Insider has been told that JLR’s management team has agreed a deal with unions to keep open both the Land Rover plant in Lode Lane, Solihull, and its Jaguar factory in Castle Bromwich.
Workers at both plants feared they were living on borrowed time after JLR announced earlier this year that one of the factories was to close. But while trading conditions in the motor industry have improved in recent months, the decision to keep both plants running follows discussions with unions and the agreement of a new pay deal which will bring Jaguar and Land Rover workers in line with industry norms.
A source close to JLR told Insider: “I doubt whether there will be pay cuts but it may be that when new workers are taken on it will be at lower rates of pay. The deal brings JLR workers in line with the likes of Nissan, Honda and Toyota. Conditions have improved in the market but this a longer term decision about the factories and is not based on the ups and downs of the market. Productivity levels need to increase.”
