Jaguar Land Rover to axe 450 employees
14 Jan 2009, 1937 Hrs

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London, Jan.14 Car giant Jaguar Land Rover is to axe 450 employees, including 300 managers, as part of a cost-cutting exercise, the company has announced.

According to the Daily Star, the cuts follow the "severe reduction" in demand for new cars.

Jaguar Land Rover also announced that managers will not receive any bonuses this year, while pay rises have been deferred to October.

The company said it had started consultations with employee representatives on the proposed redundancy programme, adding: Clearly these choices are very difficult. No company wants to lose skilled and experienced employees in any condition. Throughout the process, we will ensure employees are treated with dignity," the paper quoted CEO David Smith, as saying.

"We don't expect sales conditions to return to normal levels for some time. If we are to continue to fund and invest in the products and technology that we will need to be successful when customer demand picks up again after the recession, then we have to improve our efficiency and costs, to improve our ability to respond to the marketplace," he added.

"It is critical that Jaguar Land Rover becomes a more efficient and dynamic organisation to face up to the challenges that we will meet in the years ahead," Smith said.

The firm, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, has 15,000 employees with plants in Coventry, Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood on Merseyside. (ANI)