JLR: Safeguard our future plea

Unite welcomed Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) continued investment in the business, but today (August 11)warned against it being to the detriment of the UK workforce who had worked tirelessly to make the car maker a global success story.

Responding to the news that JLR had signed a letter of intent to build a new plant in Slovakia, Unite called on the company to offer guarantees on job security for its UK workforce.

The call comes as JLR announced it was carrying out a feasibility study for a factory in the western Slovak town of Nitra with the aim of reaching an annual output of up to 300,000 cars over the decade from 2018 when the plant would be due to start production.

A final decision will be made later this year.

“We have been and will continue to meet with Jaguar Land Rover over the coming days to seek guarantees on job security for the UK workforce,” said Unite officer for Jaguar Land Rover Des Quinn.

“The continued investment in the business is welcome and demonstrates that JLR is going from strength to strength, but it should not be to the detriment of the UK workforce who have built the foundations for that global success,” he added.

Quinn hailed the sacrifices that JLR workers made through the company’s “dark days”, which, he said, has turned“JLR the world leader it is today”.

“[Workers’] craftsmanship are central to the carmaker’s continued success,” Quinn added. “We trust that JLR recognises this by giving assurances on job security for the future.”