Press Report : JLR confirms Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants to be saved

Birmingham Post, 15th October, 2010

Jaguar XF Production
Jaguar's success has helped maintain a three-factory line-up in the UK

Car giant Jaguar Land Rover is to invest billions of pounds in its business, creating thousands of new jobs and safeguarding its UK factories, including two in the West Midlands, it has announced.

The new jobs will include 1,500 at the Halewood plant on Merseyside next year, while the other two manufacturing sites at Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West Midlands will be retained, ending fears for their future.

The company said it had ambitious plans for new models and volume growth and announced a “landmark” pay and conditions deal with Trade Unions.

The agreement, which trade unions will recommend to their members, includes a two-year pay deal worth 5% from next month, with a further rise of at least 3% from November next year.

Jaguar Land Rover said it will retain three plants in the UK, leading to the creation of thousands of new jobs in Britain over the next decade and billions of pounds-worth of investment. The number of models in its range will be “significantly increased”.

This is a triumph for all concerned. We have ambitious plans for growth and the success of our products around the world and this agreement will allow us to accelerate and realise those plans.” Dr. Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Ralf Speth said: “This is a triumph for all concerned. We have ambitious plans for growth and the success of our products around the world and this agreement will allow us to accelerate and realise 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 our award-winning Halewood factory in Liverpool.

“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 and everyone involved – our employees, our customers and our Tata shareholders – will benefit from this agreement. This is truly the beginning of a new era for Jaguar Land Rover.”

The union Unite said it was “fantastic news” for the company and its workers.

Castle Bromwich built the Spitfire during the war and two generations of the Jaguar. This remarkable agreement will see £5 billion of investment, securing the future of the three great plants in Britain. It is a triumph for the workforce, Unite and the company.” Jack Dromey MP, Birmingham Erdington

Jack Dromey, Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, which covers the Castle Bromwich plant, said it was “good news in bleak times”.

Mr Dromey, who is a former Deputy Secretary General for Unite, added: “Castle Bromwich built the Spitfire during the war and two generations of the Jaguar. This remarkable agreement will see £5 billion of investment, securing the future of the three great plants in Britain. It is a triumph for the workforce, Unite and the company.”

Another Birmingham MP, Richard Burden, who chairs the All Party Motor Group in Parliament, described the news as good for manufacturing industry and for the West Midlands.

The Labour MP for Northfield added: “JLR is one of the central foundations of the motor industry in the West Midlands. The company plays a key role in maintaining the skill base right across the Midlands – not only in JLR plants, but also in the wider supply and component industries.

“I also appeal to the Government, as they make their decisions in the weeks and months ahead, to think about the impact their actions will have on manufacturing and to remember its importance to the West Midlands and the economy as a whole.”

[Source: Birmingham Post]

Clive Goldthorp

19 Comments

  1. I just heard the news on R4. Well done to everybody. Britain does have the engineering capability – stick that in your test tube bmw.

  2. Great news – what a turn-around for the company, and to be enhanced when the Evoque and X-Type replacement come along

  3. Fantastic news. Now is the time for the buying British public to really show their support for these two companies by buying their products.

  4. This really is brilliant news for the JLR workers at Castle Bromwich, Solihull and Halewood – just goes to show what a fantastic product range, united workforce, and visionary management can achieve. Just wish I could afford an XF – but I’m glad that others can. India is at the moment showing China how to do it – Shanghai Auto really needs to step up to the plate, and see if we can have full scale, profitable car production back at Longbridge…….

  5. Great news, and some positive press for Unite for a change for their part in agreeing a deal. Good to see unions and management can work together to achieve a desireable outcome.

    Well done everybody

  6. Surprising news until you look at the plans for JLR listed in the recent CAR magazine. Plus I wonder if some TATA badged products is also on the cards?

  7. Not surprising really. All Jaguar would need to do to max out capacity at Castle Bromwich would be to stick a decent 2 litre Diesel 4 in the XF and the 273 ps V6 Diesel in the XK! I’ve spent a fair bit of time at Aston University in Birmingham recently. JLR seem to be camped out there – with a new XJ and Range Rover on a graduate recruitment drive.

  8. JLR does have an impressive range and it’s getting better BUT, and this is where the 3 sites may come in, they don’t have an engine plant. It’d be god if some spare space was given over ti I4, V6 & V8 production.

  9. What can you say but great news!! With the support from Tata, JLR can only prosper. Great product range, even Range Rovers new Evoque will do well (don’t worry purists, Land Rover won’t forget you I’m sure!)

    Goog luck to all the workers at all the factories, you deserve the future success!!!

  10. Unless a deal could be struck with Ford Bridgend, that would secure much needed long term jobs in South Wales.  

  11. ……. and while their at it get North East back up to capacity banging out steel again! I’m bored with the negative media/press talking us back into a recession, success stories like this should celebrated and built on. 

  12. Good luck to the JLR wallers. Corus steel is part of the same empire, and also they now own 26% of bus & coach builder Optare group who in turn own Leyland Chassis Developments..Could the Leyland name be due a comeback? Sadly I don’t hold out the same hope for Longbridge.

  13. I had a good feeling that TATA would know how to look after the company’s heritage at the time of the takeover & was relieved that they were rescued from Ford. Now is the time for JLR to forge ahead.

    About bloody time eveyone started pulling together & not to waste it all bickering, as so often happened in the past.  

  14. this is greate news. it would be a very hard decision to close any one of those 3 factories, they all are very significant in their own right. good on Jaguar and the UNions to make this happen. let hope jaguar also keep the unions happy when things look better. alex

  15. Great news for the workers of these two fantastic luxury car manufacturers (yes LR included, the Defender is more of a “niche” model nowadays!) in a time of cutbacks and recession!

    Shows the faith in the region’s car building skillbase!

    Could Tata bring in Rover as a sub-premium “budget” brand? Mk2 Indica, Indigo saloon as 25/45? Perhaps a facelifted modernised X type “75” Seat Exeo-style?

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