Consumers Shunning Diesel Cars Blamed for More JLR Job Cuts

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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17th December 2018

A further 5,000 jobs could be cut at UK carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with much of the blame put on the slump in diesel engine sales.

While industry analysts point the finger at the manufacturer’s diesel-heavy product range being a main problem, they are also factoring in fears that a disorganized Brexit could see many more automotive jobs disappear from the UK. The country’s Guardian newspaper has reported that the carmaker will make the cuts after Christmas in a bid to slash £2.5Bn ($3.1Bn) from its budget to meet the twin challenges plus falling sales from reduced consumer demand in China.

The UK’s largest carmaker has already cut 1,000 temporary jobs from its plant in Solihull, near Birmingham, where it builds the iconic Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery SUVs. Reports suggest that the company’s owners, the Indian Tata group, made the decision on further job losses following a £90M ($113M) loss suffered by JLR in the three months leading up to September owing to the sales slump.

Workers unions have slammed the UK government’s handling of diesel oil’s image as a ‘dirty’ fuel despite it producing only a third of the green house gases of gasoline engines. The UK has suffered a sharp rise in CO2 emissions following the consumer’s switch to gasoline, sparked by concerned for urban air quality compromised by diesel particulate emissions blamed for some 40,000 deaths annually from breathing related disease.

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_