Tata confirms closing of Jaguar or Land Rover plant
When the economy gets dinged, luxury vehicles gets massive dents. Jaguar and Land Rover haven't been the most profitable aut for a while, and parent company Tata is studying which of two plants it would shut to try and stem some of the losses; Solihull or Castle Bromwich.
It sounds drastic, but the pain of closing a plant and shedding underutilized capacity - about 40 percent of JLR's production overhead is going unused - could head off outright failure. Production has been pulled back already, while jobs have been cut and wages frozen, so word of the closing is just more bad news, but Jaguar Land Rover CEO David Smith is committed to taking "decisive actions" to see the storied marques through. The union, of course, is unhappy, and a meeting will be going forward between the company and GMB officials to determine what actions might be taken on both sides.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. | Image Source: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kaveh 5:46PM (9/24/2009)
Thats sad to see, seems like India has taken over the English now.
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mk15 5:48PM (9/24/2009)
An ironic twist of fate given the history between the two.
Kaveh 5:50PM (9/24/2009)
No kidding, taking turns owning each other.
ripslymemc 10:13PM (9/24/2009)
haha...turn-based ownage indeed.
is this karma?
Kaveh 10:24PM (9/24/2009)
Well, seems like the English are having really bad luck with there car companies, MG got sold to a Chinese company, and TVR last I heard was a Russian car company. Jag and Land Rover started bring out interesting cars but still got sold.
Then again, the American car companies are getting a little taste with Hummer getting bought by the Chinese.
Bloke 11:28PM (9/24/2009)
"Well, seems like the English are having really bad luck with there car companies, MG got sold to a Chinese company, and TVR last I heard was a Russian car company. Jag and Land Rover started bring out interesting cars but still got sold.
Then again, the American car companies are getting a little taste with Hummer getting bought by the Chinese."
Business is business, and British car companies by and large are relatively small to compete independently in this day and age. TVR was bought by a Russian individual, not a Russian company. MG wasn't bought by a Chinese company - MG Rover itself was liquidated. Nanjing acquired the rights simply to use the MG name.
Foreign ownership in a given entity can hardly be described as "bad luck". As long as appropriate investment in a company is made, sensible business decisions are produced, productivity is optimised, and there's an adequate return on investment, then it doesn't matter what domicile any owner or parent company has.
Bloke 11:31PM (9/24/2009)
"Thats sad to see, seems like India has taken over the English now."
A major Indian conglomerate owns two small British car companies, namely Jaguar Cars and Land Rover. How on earth can this be construed as "India taking over the English" unless you're a) clueless about the world and/or b) yet to reach puberty?
Kaveh 11:33PM (9/24/2009)
It's is bad luck, Jags, Land Rovers, and MG's had there own style being English brands. Now they will be just cookie cutter cars and thats a sad thing.
Bloke 11:38PM (9/24/2009)
"It's is bad luck, Jags, Land Rovers, and MG's had there own style being English brands. Now they will be just cookie cutter cars and thats a sad thing."
Jaguars and Lad Rovers continue to be designed in-house. Ownership of the company's shares has nothing to do with the design of a product. Profitability does. LR and Jaguar have failed to be particularly profitable for a very, very long time.
Oh, and you need to understand the difference between "there" and "their".
Rar 5:53PM (9/24/2009)
Its time to clean up UK auto makers.
all garbage UK auto makers must clean up.
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Tony 7:00PM (9/24/2009)
Gotta do what you gotta do. I just hope Jaguar survives. My wife will want a replacement for her 1995 XJS convertible eventually.
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Azael 7:03PM (9/24/2009)
If they stop making vehicles styled for old, blase people they may have a future.
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Tony 7:19PM (9/24/2009)
Betcha $100.00 you wouldn't last 5 minutes saying old and blazé to my wife.
Azael 7:52PM (9/24/2009)
@Tony
Hahaha, you make it sound like an episode of Fear Factor. What do you suppose your wife would do?
And i'm just saying, if they got rid of some of the soft curves of the car and offered colors that a woman wouldn't pick her bed sheets in and they could attract a younger crowd. I think they offer 3-5 different shades of beige for the exterior paint and who knows how many shades of dull silver...
Bernard 10:13PM (9/24/2009)
I will take you up on that Azael. I would like it in five $20s please :)
Dr. Nick 8:36PM (9/24/2009)
Mullally's sale of these two showed impeccable timing. Masterful; likely a little lucky, but still great work.
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Turkey Pie 8:39PM (9/24/2009)
Its time for Jag/LR to be bought by the Germans. They might have failed due to Rover (not Range Rover) but I think they learned their lesson and are smart enough to mange the English. Tata might be overburdened now.
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inline6 8:47PM (9/24/2009)
Well, my guess is the Castle Bromwich facility will go. It's by far the elder of the two.
Moving Jag production to the newer, more modern Solihull facility (built in the '70s by BL) would make more sense. And now that the big LRs and RRs share engines and other components with Jaguar, they'll probably be able to pull it off.
It'll be sad since Jag has been in that facility for so long. But if the decision is no Castle Bromwich or no Jaguar Land Rover, it's a no-brainer.
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Bloke 11:34PM (9/24/2009)
The only sensible response in the entire thread! I agree, Solihull's facility is the one likely to remain.
shlompsen 9:36PM (9/24/2009)
Bodacious.
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