Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced plans to cut up to 500 management jobs in the UK, citing a sharp decline in sales partly attributed to US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The voluntary redundancy programme will affect approximately 1.5% of the company's 33,000 UK workforce.
The British luxury carmaker reported a 15.1% drop in sales for the three months to June, following a temporary halt in exports to the US in April after Trump introduced a 25% duty on foreign-made vehicles. Exports resumed in May after a trade deal between the UK and US reduced tariffs to 10% for up to 100,000 cars annually.
JLR's chief executive, Adrian Mardell, said the trade deal would help sustain 250,000 jobs across the UK car industry. Britain's ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, claimed the agreement had immediately prevented job losses at JLR's West Midlands factory.
A JLR spokesperson stated: 'JLR regularly offers eligible employees voluntary redundancy programmes. Through this limited UK VR programme for managers, JLR is aligning its leadership workforce for the business’s current and future needs.' The company also noted the trade deal gave it confidence to invest £3.5bn per annum.
The news drew criticism from shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith, who called it 'a huge personal embarrassment for Keir Starmer'. Downing Street described the job cuts as 'disappointing' but highlighted government support for the automotive sector, including £2.5bn for electric vehicle transition and new trade deals.
JLR also lowered its profit margin forecast for this year to 5-7% from 10%, citing tariff uncertainty. Sales in North America fell 12.2% in the second quarter, while UK sales dropped 25.5% due to the planned phase-out of older Jaguar models ahead of new electric vehicles expected in 2026.
