Ratan Tata: Jaguar/Land Rover needs £500 million from the UK government to prevent layoffs
Land Rover LRX Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery
Ratan Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) expecting to pick them up and help them fly. Instead, as with nearly every other car manufacturer, he's having to dig them out of a deepening hole. From last December through next month, 1,800 employees have either been laid off, released or asked to leave. According to Tata, if the UK government doesn't give JLR £500 million ($715 million USD) in loan guarantees, more people will have to go.
The government appears to be passing on the request, having already given Land Rover a £27 million ($38 million USD) loan to help it create the LRX. Even as the government is continuing to help JLR secure bank financing, the line on JLR's new request for loan guarantees is that "the primary responsibility for short-term financing or longer-term restructuring rests with the parent company." Hat tip to Leonard
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Sektor 6:32PM (3/27/2009)
This is getting ridiculous. All these automakers demanding money are starting to sound like terrorists: "Give us money or we are going to lay off people."
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TonyL 6:34PM (3/27/2009)
The caption is "Honda LRX", perhaps you mean Land Rover LRX?
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TyWright 6:36PM (3/27/2009)
Oh!!! I think that LRX is a glorified CR-V. Busted.
Soccer Mom 6:40PM (3/27/2009)
Give me money or I will lay myself off!
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superman211 7:31PM (3/27/2009)
LMAO! +1
MAAD 6:42PM (3/27/2009)
Hmm.. I'm not sure, but I think that concept is made by Land Rover. Was there a "How many 'Land Rovers' can you find?" contest, 'cause I just played it while going through the pic gallery. It wasn't much fun though.
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Chris Shunk 6:43PM (3/27/2009)
Sorry about that folks.. It's obviously a Land Rover.... fixed.
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Auari 6:56PM (3/27/2009)
When I looked at the picture, I swear i thought it was the Chevy Volt in SUV form
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airswingman 7:19PM (3/27/2009)
why the H all the monopoly capitalist are trying to threaten the money from from the goverment? Sounds like ruffian........
If you don;t give me the money I will let people lose jobs
I will let the govt lose popular opinion
I will let the whole f^king country pay for me.
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BigWill 7:25PM (3/27/2009)
Who'd have thought that the infamous National Lampoon cover of 36 years ago - "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" - would become a business strategy.
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pcr 7:26PM (3/27/2009)
There's a difference between a bailout and a loan guarantee. .If the banks won't lend of their own accord without someone to co-sign the deal, what's a company to do?
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the_MVP_X 7:33PM (3/27/2009)
Well, he might want to sell it back, it's clear even for an idiot that he can't handle it, and don't tell me that JLR made good cars, he is still working on Ford projects,
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why not the LS2LS7? 7:42PM (3/27/2009)
Land Rover is a serial killer. By many accounts, they even put BMW into financial difficulty before BMW unloaded them.
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GEO 7:56PM (3/27/2009)
Land Rover made a tidy profit last year. They are not asking for money from the government. Business requires capital to operate. Without it, they cannot survive. The only reason Land Rover needs loan guarantees is that banks are not loaning. Financially speaking, we are in uncharted waters.The French, German, Japanese and American governments have all provided some kind of support to their automakers to enable them to to survive the crisis. The British goverment will need to decide if they want their industry to survive.
why not the LS2LS7? 8:56PM (3/27/2009)
Correction:
The primary reason JLR needs loan guarantees is because they need loans. I realize it's a capital-intensive business, but if you manage to stay within your britches, you stand a better chance of getting loans.
Saying the UK has to decide if they want their industry to survive implies it is within their command to decide this. They cannot, they could kill it by withholding guarantees. But surviving depends on a lot more than just these guarantees. The past history of Rover/Land Rover shows this quite well. They've been bailed out many many times and they still need a little something to survive a little longer.
GEO 9:06PM (3/27/2009)
EVERY auto manufacurer has needed assistance. According to former Toyota President, Jim Press, the Japanese government fully funded the development of the Prius, among many other projects. Western governments choose not to play the game, but they won't win by doing so.
LDMAN 8:39PM (3/27/2009)
Problem is that JLR needs to be part of a large automotive manufacturer to make any sense. On its own or as part of Tata it just does make any business sense. Frankly, I see Tata and Fiat merging in the short run and JLR being put on the table as wedding gift.
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GEO 8:57PM (3/27/2009)
That could make actually some sense. Alfas and 500s would work much better in Jag or LR showrooms than in Chrysler stores.
ken_aisin 10:00PM (3/27/2009)
Tata can move Jaguar and Land Rover to India. The wages are much cheaper there.
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EU_reader 10:43PM (3/27/2009)
That concept is so totally hot.
I'm not an suv man, by any means, but this car could tempt me towards SUV's in a heartbeat.
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