Discovery Sport production leads to 250 new jobs at JLR
JAGUAR Land Rover has created a further 250 jobs and invested £200m at its Halewood plant in Merseyside as it prepares to make the new Land Rover Discovery Sport there.
The move takes the number of staff at the Merseyside factory to 4,750, three times the number employed there in 2010.
The rapid growth has been down to the success of the Evoque which has become the group’s top-selling model, with 200,000 having been produced at the factory.
JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata, said the latest investment takes the total figure to £500m since 2010. Some 260 robots have been installed along with laser welding facilitates and a number of state-of-the-art equipment monitoring and reporting systems.
Chief executive Dr Ralf Speth made the announcement at the International Festival for Business in Liverpool.
He said: “I am delighted that Halewood – and Liverpool – has been selected for this new investment. It is totally deserved, and strengthens the ‘special relationship’ that bonds Jaguar Land Rover to this great city.”
Halewood operations director Richard Else said: “In many ways, Halewood has embodied the transformation of Jaguar Land Rover. We have seen our work force treble and production quadruple in just four years.
“Today we are operating three shifts, 24-hours a day to meet global demand and I am confident that the team will rise to the challenge and deliver a flawless launch of this exciting new model.”
JLR describes the Discovery Sport, which will go on sale next year, as “the most versatile and capable vehicle in the compact SUV segment”. It is planning a family of Discovery vehicles, inspired by the “Discovery Vision Concept” which was showcased at the New York International Auto Show.
