JLR ‘to keep both West Midlands plants open’

JAGUAR Land Rover has today announced it has scrapped plans to close one of its West Midlands plants.

TheBusinessDesk.com understands 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, Birmingham, in return for a pay deal.

Details of the deal were not revealed, but a source close to JLR said it was thought to bring pay in line with lower rates paid to workers at Toyota and Nissan.

JLR’s Indian owner Tata announced its plans to close one of the Midlands plants last September, after spending a year tussling with the UK government over credit guarantees it said were vital to its survival through the downturn.

It is understood that JLR’s new management team of Carl-Peter Forster and Ralf Speth opened more positive negotiations with unions just as the fortunes of the car industry started to improve. They told workers’ representatives that the plants could remain open if they agreed to more flexible working conditions and contracts which would bring them closer to the terms offered by Japanese-owned plants in the UK. It is expected that a pay deal will see workers receive a 5% rise this year, and 3% next year.

Bosses of union Unite are expected to put the deal to the workforce at both plants later today.

Jaguar Land Rover announced last year its intention to close one or other of the two plants in a bid to cut costs and simplify production. It announced a prolonged consultation process that was criticised by unions for putting unnecessary pressure on staff.
 
Last week, industry commentators were predicting that the Land Rover plant in Solihull was most likely to be axed in favour of the much more modern Castle Bromwich site.

  • JLR boss Speth upbeat on growth, but warns on skills. Click here

If you’re not getting our daily emails, your competitors might be. Click here to check your account settings.

Close