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Jaguar Land Rover will create over 1,100 new jobs in Britain as it prepares to manufacture its latest models in the XF and XJ ranges.
The production operator jobs will be created at its Castle Bromwich advanced manufacturing facility near the city of Birmingham, where it makes the XF, XK, and XJ models, largely for export.
The new luxury estate Jaguar XF Sportbrake, unveiled at the Geneva motor show earlier this year, is set to go on sale in September and will be manufactured at Castle Bromwich, along with updated versions of the XF and XJ.
The new figures will take the total jobs created by JLR globally in the past two years to 8,000, said Mr Des Thurlby, Human Resources Director at JLR. It will take the firm’s total workforce to around 25,000, including 1,500 outside the UK.
The launch of the new models is also expected to support thousands of new jobs for British suppliers. “This expansion is a clear demonstration of Jaguar Land Rover’s continuing commitment and investment in the UK,” said Mr Vincent Cable, Britain’s Business Secretary. On Thursday, a Global Investor Conference is set to take place in London, followed by 17 sector-specific summits, which the government hopes could lead to an Rs 8,600-crore boost to trade and investment in the country.
JLR’s recruitment drives have proved exceedingly popular in a country where many firms have been cutting their workforce in the face of the challenging economic environment. Around 35,000 people applied for the 1,000 new jobs created in the company’s Halewood plant back in March, a spokesperson said. “All those positions have been filled and people have been trained and we will start those new people building cars shortly,” they said.
Sales of Jaguar Land Rover have remained strong, despite the persistently tough economic conditions globally. Worldwide sales of Jaguar Land Rover in June were 39 per cent higher than the same period the year before, driven by Land Rover. Sales for the full year ended March were up 29.1 per cent, while pre-tax profits rose 35 per cent, boosted by new product launches such as the Range Rover Evoque and markets such as China. The company has said it is investing £2 billion (Rs 17,200 crore) into research and development in the year to March, as part of a five-year plan for 40 new “product actions.”
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