2:09 pm, January 14, 2013
JAGUAR LAND ROVER has announced plans to introduce 800 new jobs at its Solihull plant near Birmingham.
The news comes just days after Honda announced that the same number would have to be cut from workforce at its Swindon plant in Wiltshire, after a lack of European sales pushed down production demands.
The Solihull plant, which produces the Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models, currently employs around 6,000 workers, but it’s understood that continuing demand for the maker’s cars worldwide have pushed up demand for production.
Sales for Land Rover’s cars in Britain did particularly well last year, up an impressive 24 per cent against 2011. In growing economies like China, however, things were even better for the luxury brand – leading to a 30 per cent increase on worldwide sales.
The 800 jobs are in addition to the 8,000 workers JLR has taken on over the last two years – and come before its upcoming engine plant in Wolverhampton, which will add a further 750 jobs, is completed.
Business secretary Vince Cable was appropriately pleased by the new additions. “The company’s investment of £2bn this year and 8,000 new jobs over the last two years shows how JLR goes from strength to strength,” he told the BBC.
“With support from the government’s regional growth fund, it’s a clear demonstration of where the government working in partnership with the private sector can make a real difference to the UK economy.”
