- Jaguar Land Rover is cutting up to 500 management jobs in the United Kingdom.
- The move follows a sharp decline in sales caused by tariffs and the Jaguar revamp.
- JLR claims the decision is routine, though the company faces multiple ongoing headwinds.
After a string of challenges in recent months, the Jaguar Land Rover group is facing yet another tough quarter, with falling sales and growing operational strain casting a long shadow over its near-term outlook.
Earlier this month, the company posted disappointing results as retail sales dropped 15.1% to 94,420 units. The decline was attributed to two key factors: the “planned wind down of legacy Jaguar models” and the impact of steep tariffs introduced by the Trump administration.
Shipments Disrupted by Tariffs
Following the tariff hike, JLR temporarily paused shipments to the United States in April following the introduction of higher tariffs. This helps to explain why wholesale volumes in North America dropped 12.2% compared to a year ago.
More: Jaguar’s Massive 97% Sales Collapse Is Actually Very Misleading
Fast forward to today and British publications are reporting that Jaguar Land Rover is cutting hundreds of jobs as troubles mount. BBC News is reporting that up to 500 managers will be eliminated as part of a “voluntary redundancy scheme.”
The reduction is said to amount to less than 2% of their British workforce and the company described it as a “normal business practice.” That being said, things are far from normal at JLR as one of its namesake brands is effectively waiting to be reborn.
Besides the Jaguar changeover, Land Rover is getting hammered by tariffs. Even after the US-UK trade deal, the rate on imports jumped from 2.5% to a minimum of 10%. Even worse, an analyst noted that since the popular Defender is made in Slovakia, it faces a 27.5% tariff when imported into America.
