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Thread: Jaguar Landrover closing factories.

  1. #17
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by margaret View Post
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...ogpw4myWEkmlj4


    EXCLUSIVE: ANGRY and frustrated politicians have reacted to the approval of a massive €125million (£110million) payment by the European Union to help fund a new Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant in Slovakia, just days before the stalwart UK car brand announced plans to close its UK operations in Solihull, Birmingham
    This is actually quite old news and I suspect the Express are trying to stir things up to suit their own agenda.

    But automotive production has been a political football for years. Even within the confines of the UK politicians decided where assembly plants were allowed to be built, which is why Liverpool gained car plants when the docks trade collapsed.
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  2. #18
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cathidaw View Post
    I'm sure it will.I have a friend who left a 'good' job to work there last year for a better future. now if they do close he'll be one of the first to go,if its last in first out.
    I would think that as long as he works for R&D he'll unlikely have any problems. R&D have been short of engineers for years. That is, of course, as long as they don't decide to scale back on models and model year refreshes. (Something that IMO they ought be cutting back on.) However, if your friend is working in any of the production related groups at Gaydon, that is a different kettle of fish. I suspect that purchasing will be one of the first areas affected, and sales and marketing won't be too far behind.
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  3. #19
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    I see that the German head of JLR is again in the news blaming Brexit for his woes, but he's not alone in facing trouble in the motor industry. Ford are closing down their Spanish vehicle production facilities for 9 days and their engine facilities for 13 days. The difference is that Ford are being a little more honest and admitting that world car production is outstripping current demand. - And it has been that way for quite a long time. Vehicle manufacturers have been very creative in moving new vehicles without destroying the market, but their options are becoming more limited as time passes. Saturation point is looming.
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  4. #20
    Pillar of the Community margaret's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rebbonk View Post
    I see that the German head of JLR is again in the news blaming Brexit for his woes, but he's not alone in facing trouble in the motor industry. Ford are closing down their Spanish vehicle production facilities for 9 days and their engine facilities for 13 days. The difference is that Ford are being a little more honest and admitting that world car production is outstripping current demand. - And it has been that way for quite a long time. Vehicle manufacturers have been very creative in moving new vehicles without destroying the market, but their options are becoming more limited as time passes. Saturation point is looming.


    Interesting comment, Rebbonk,
    How much driverless cars will step into the breach is I guess an unknown, but the world is awash with cars.
    It seems that the JLR market is holding up reasonably well, but they are bound to be battered both by the huge over supply of cars and a tax on their own specific market. You were saying in an earlier post that they are living in the past in a number of respects, and I am sure this is true. It was the American economist , Galbraith, many years ago who discovered that demand can be artificially created by the producers, but we are surely reaching saturation point with cars and a lot of electronic technologies.

  5. #21
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    So, after Ralf Speth complaining bitterly about what Brexit will do to his business, and the recent temporary closing of production facilities, JLR are now advertising vacancies! Would you chance it? I wouldn't.

    And all the staff currently laid off are only paid if they are directly employed by JLR. But as most are contract staff supplied by DHL they won't be paid. So guess what? They're taking jobs elsewhere, which will leave JLR with a shortage of trained staff once production resumes! - Quality (never particularly good) will go right down the pan again!

    Mind you, the Germans have form for sabotaging their own efforts, BMW threatened to close Rover on the very day they launched the 75. - Arguably the best car they'd ever produced.
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  6. #22
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    JLR have a glut of cars, hence by any thinking they have over capacity. So what do they do? Open a factory in Slovakia that can produce another 150,000 vehicles a year!

    Something has to give and my bet is it will be UK production facilities under the cries of "Brexit!"
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  7. #23
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    This is not about Brexit so much as p*ss poor management...

    Jaguar Land Rover, Britain's biggest carmaker, has slumped to a quarterly loss after trade war fears hit demand in China while new emissions rules and Brexit uncertainty weighed on UK consumers.

    Sales volumes fell by 13.2% in the July-September quarter compared with the same period last year to 129,887 vehicles. Revenues were 10.9% lower at £5.6bn.

    JLR, owned by India's Tata Motors, reported a £90m loss for the period - following a profit of £385m over the same three months in 2017.
    Source and more Sky News

    It's easy to run a company in the good times, but once the climate gets sticky you start to see the real calibre of the management! And that calibre looks pretty poor at JLR.
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  8. #24
    Administrator Lex's Avatar
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    I know a lot of managers who I wouldn't trust to run a bath properly.

  9. #25
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    Sadly very true Lex. When I was there there were the bullies that blustered their way through, keeping production going, but very few that had the brains to actually think that if things went belly up what they could do. Forward planning was a little thin on the ground, as we can see by recent developments.

    Incidentally, when BMW took over the group, plenty were surprised. I wasn't, in fact I'd floated it as an idea a couple of months earlier at Cov Uni, only to have it pooh-poohed by those that knew better!
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  10. #26
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    Oh dear, this will likely impact on Gaydon, and it shows how the management are thinking...

    Jaguar Land Rover to open new engineering centre in Hungary

    Jaguar Land Rover is to open a new centre in Budapest next year, creating 100 new jobs.

    The company has confirmed plans to create a technical engineering office in Hungary, opening in early 2019.

    Engineers in Budapest will work alongside Jaguar Land Rover’s supply chain located in Europe to support the launch of vehicles into the company’s global manufacturing locations.

    The move comes just a week after the car giant's new plant in Slovakia officially opened.
    Source (plus more):Coventry Telegraph
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  11. #27
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    The inside view! Things haven't changed since I was there. The management are still distrusted. I really fear for JLR...

    Aggrieved staff at Jaguar Land Rover plants have lifted the lid on "anger" and "bitterness" among colleagues, with one whistle-blower revealing how "most people are waiting for the axe to swing".

    Employees returned to work a fortnight ago following two-week shutdown period after JLR chiefs announced a freeze in vehicle production.

    It came after the luxury UK car giant announced sales had fallen by 13.2 per cent to 129,887 vehicles for the three months to September 30.

    The company also reported revenues of £5.6billon and a pre-tax loss of £90million for the same period.

    Following a raft of financial woes, one of its biggest suppliers Unipart announced a plan IF JLR was to announce an early Christmas shutdown amid alleged "strong rumours".

    However, two weeks after returning to work, a number of workers from inside Castle Bromwich, Tyre Fort and Solihull have explained what the atmosphere has been like among staff following months of uncertainty .
    Full article: Coventry Telegraph
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  12. #28
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    According to the FT, 5000 jobs are to go come the New Year

    FT
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  13. #29
    Pillar of the Community margaret's Avatar
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    I can't get into the article Rebbonk, I have to subscribe.

    I got it from this source though...

    https://www.theguardian.com/business...p-to-5000-jobs
    Last edited by margaret; 16-12-2018 at 05:53 PM.

  14. #30
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    Very odd Margaret, I can't get to it now either.

    I'm not sure that Boston Consulting Group are the best to look at turning things round to be honest. I think my preference would have been McKinsey
    Last edited by rebbonk; 16-12-2018 at 06:40 PM.
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  15. #31
    Super Moderator rebbonk's Avatar
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    4500 jobs to go!

    Worryingly, production hasn't been hit which means that they are still producing vehicles for stock and the costs incurred.

    I don't think we've heard the last by a long chalk.
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  16. #32
    Pillar of the Community margaret's Avatar
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    They may just move abroad.

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