24 Sep 09 14:51
Castle Bromwich
Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that it will close one of its two West Midland factories by the middle of the next decade.
The company insists it is not planning to make compulsory redundancies as a result.
It will close either its Solihull or Castle Bromwich plant, which currently employs a total of around 7,000 workers.
However, JLR will create 800 new jobs at its Halewood plant as it starts production of a new model based on the Land Rover LRX concept. The new car will debut next year and join the Range Rover line-up in 2011.
It is expected that JLR workers will transfer to the sole plant when one closes or will move to the Hailwood plant. An agreement with parent company Tata to commit to the workforce ensures there will be no job losses.
Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover, said: 'The production of a small Range Rover model is excellent news for our employees, dealers and customers. It is a demonstration of our commitment to investing for the future.'
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: 'Confirmation that the LRX is to be built at Halewood will help to end the uncertainty at the plant with the added prospect of some new jobs in the pipeline.'
However, Bert Hill, regional officer at the GMB, told the BBC that the union would be opposing JLR's decision.
'We are now in a meeting with the company to hear details of their plans,' he said. 'The GMB will be opposing everything we have heard so far. We will fight the company on this - of that I have no doubt.'
