Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) chief executive Ralf Speth warns a ‘no deal’ Brexit could cost the firm £60m a day, putting tens of thousands of its employees jobs at risk.
JLR employs around 40,000 people in the UK, but Speth delivered a chilling message at a conference in Birmingham: “Jobs have been shed when they should have been created. A thousand lost as a result of diesel policy. Those numbers will be counted in the tens of thousands if we do not get the right Brexit deal.”
Britain’s biggest carmaker, JLR is also one of the country’s biggest exporters. But Mr Speth warned departing the EU without a good deal in place could sacrifice that success.
The company previously moved its Jaguar Land Rover Discovery product from Solihull to Slovakia, putting many jobs at risk. Pointing out that it was cheaper to produce cars in Slovakia, Speth added: “What decisions will we be forced to make, if Brexit means not merely that costs go up, but that we cannot physically build cars on time and on budget in the UK?
“Six months from Brexit and uncertainty means that many companies are being forced to make decisions about their businesses that will not be reversed, whatever the outcome, just to survive.”
Could you be affected by this? If so, InAutomotive currently has over 5,000 automotive jobs on our website. If you are concerned about your future, search for jobs here.
