Jaguar Land Rover confirms planned job cuts

Car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed it is opening a voluntary redundancy programme, a year on from a cyber attack which brought production to a halt for more than a month.

The firm said it needed to save about £1.7bn over the next two years as it seeks to adapt to "evolving global market conditions".

It was reported by The Times on Saturday that as many as 4,000 jobs may be lost due to the impact of tariffs and a drop in sales.

The firm told the BBC it had not confirmed the numbers. It said the decision to cut jobs was to help "simplify" the organisation as well as "improve efficiency and build greater resilience".

"Today, we informed our colleagues, and trade union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business," a spokesperson said.

"We will share further information with our colleagues first."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union had been warning about a "perfect storm" hanging over the automotive industry for some time.

"Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments," she said.