JLR to cut 4,000 jobs over two years amid sales and cost pressures

MUMBAI: Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is putting its workforce into reverse gear. The Tata Motors-owned carmaker is preparing to cut around 4,000 jobs in the UK over the next two years as it battles weaker sales, rising costs and the impact of US tariffs, according to The Times.

JLR is expected to formally announce the redundancy programme on Monday, with employees informed late on Friday that an announcement was forthcoming.

The planned cuts would affect around 12 per cent of JLR’s UK workforce. The company employs approximately 34,000 people across the country, with operations at three sites in the West Midlands and another facility in Halewood, Merseyside. Its wider UK supply chain supports an estimated 120,000 jobs.

The move comes as PB Balaji faces pressure to improve JLR’s cost structure and restore profitability. Balaji, who previously served as finance chief at Tata Motors, became JLR’s chief executive last year.

JLR’s financial performance has come under pressure. Revenue fell by nearly 10 per cent in the quarter ended June 2026, while pre-tax profit plunged by more than two-thirds to £109 million.

The company is targeting savings of around £1.7 billion over the next two years and aims to lower its break-even point to 300,000 vehicles.

JLR has already opened a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management employees. The initiative is designed to simplify the organisation, improve efficiency and make the business more resilient.

The carmaker is also facing a tougher trading environment in one of its most important markets.

A 10 per cent US tariff on cars imported from the UK has added to JLR’s costs, with North America accounting for 29 per cent of its sales and remaining its biggest market.

At the same time, weaker demand in China has added to the strain. The company is also dealing with the aftermath of a cyberattack last year that disrupted its operations globally.

JLR’s challenges reflect wider difficulties facing European carmakers, which are contending with softer demand, higher operating costs and intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers.

Volkswagen, for instance, has separately approved a restructuring programme involving a further 50,000 job cuts.

The proposed JLR reductions also underline the pressures facing Tata Motors’s UK operations.

Across the wider Tata group, Tata Steel is investing in the conversion of its Port Talbot steelworks towards greener steel production, while Tata Consultancy Services continues to hold several UK government contracts.

Tata-owned Agratas is also developing an electric vehicle battery plant in Somerset.

For JLR, however, the immediate priority is clear: reduce costs, protect cash and bring the business back to a more sustainable footing as the global auto industry enters an increasingly competitive phase.