David Roberts, chair of Coventry-based Evtec, says the outlook for Britain’s automotive sector is grim, with “everything against us.” Evtec is a tier 1 supplier to Jaguar Land Rover, which this week announced 4,000 job cuts over two years despite chancellor John Healey’s attempt to talk up Britain’s growth prospects. The cuts fuel fears for tens of thousands across the UK supply chain, particularly in the West Midlands, amid competition from Chinese carmakers, Donald Trump’s tariff wars and the fallout from a recent cyber-attack. Roberts warns automotive demand will “contract inexorably over the next five years” without significant support and policy changes, noting “nobody knows the rate or speed of that decline, but decline it will, because everything is against us, everything, when making cars in the UK.”
JLR chief executive PB Balaji aims to save £1.7bn through the cuts, mainly affecting head office staff via UK voluntary redundancies in white-collar and research and development roles. Corin Crane, group chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, estimates 140,000 to 180,000 people are employed in supply chain businesses connected to JLR. He says it is “really hard to underestimate exactly how important JLR is to the West Midlands economy,” noting many businesses—manufacturing and professional services alike—depend on contracts with the carmaker. Oxford Economics estimated JLR contributed £8.7bn to the West Midlands in 2024, equivalent to 4.7% of the regional economy, and £1.1bn to the north-west, where it has a plant at Halewood.
Last year’s hack paused JLR production for four weeks, costing £200m and contributing to a profit before tax drop from £2.5bn to just £14m. The attack left more than 700 supply-chain companies struggling, as they produce the 30,000 parts that can make up a luxury car. This time, cuts are expected largely through voluntary redundancies, though experts warn of a ripple effect if JLR’s struggles persist.
Roberts has united about 15 businesses supplying JLR—with combined £2bn revenue and 12,000 to 14,000 employees—to speak with a “common voice” about their issues. He describes JLR as the “kingpin” of the UK’s automotive industry, warning challenges have knock-on effects on smaller car makers including McLaren, Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. “There will come a point that the decline will be unstoppable and that will be the end of the motor industry as we currently know it. We’ll just be a very small volume player,” he says. Industry experts have long warned of growing challenges from China competition, Trump’s tariffs and the transition to electric vehicles.
Healey acknowledged it was a “worrying time” for JLR’s workers and suppliers, while West Midlands mayor Richard Parker announced a £500,000 support package for staff. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who has ruled out state support to protect jobs, will meet the company and the Unite union on Tuesday. A Birmingham-based plastic manufacturer that has supplied JLR for decades says its workforce has been cut by about 75% due to sector challenges. The owner, who declined to be identified, calls on JLR to be more transparent with suppliers and the public to restore confidence, saying investors need “visibility and confidence in future UK productions.” He also warns JLR supports an “enormous network of tool-makers and moulders, manufacturers and engineers across the whole region,” and “the saddest aspect is we could potentially lose decades of engineering if we haven’t got these big companies in the Midlands supporting it any more.”
Steve Morley, president of the Confederation of British Metalforming, says the announcement was not a surprise, citing previous government policies that “have done nothing to support the automotive sector at all.” He criticises high UK labour and energy costs and policies around electric vehicles, which the industry argues are too onerous. Reynolds has refused to rule out watering down targets for 80% zero-emission car sales by 2030, which would ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. Morley says: “If we want to be competitive, we have to have infrastructure that lets us be competitive. We cannot afford to have the energy costs we’ve got, the labour costs we’ve got, the policies around EV that stranglehold the automotive sector.” Balaji said on Monday JLR was “committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect” through the redundancy process.
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