Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover is cutting down production at its Halewood plant, amid Brexit uncertainty and concerns over the future of diesel vehicles.
The company said that it is a temporary move and does not affect any of the employees.
The Halewood plant builds Range Rover Discovery Sport and smaller Evoque models. The reduced production is set to take effect in the second quarter of this year.
JLR stated that despite giving good performance last year, the automotive industry continues to face challenges which have affected consumers’ confidence, in the form of Brexit.
Added to this, the concern over the future of petrol and diesel engines and general economic and political uncertainty has impacted car sales.
The decision was taken as part of its periodic review of production to make some temporary adjustments to match that of consumer demand.
The plant received £700m of investment and in 2011, the plant started producing Range Rover Evoque and in 2014, it manufactured Discovery Sport.
Due to high sales volume over the years, the company has been maintaining three shifts at the plant.
In the recent times, PSA Group, the new owner of Vauxhall, had cut 250 jobs at the Ellesmere Port facility where Astra is produced. This was preceded by 400 staff cuts that were made last October.
In response, trade union Unite stated that it is in close dialogue with the company and will also be monitoring the situation closely.
From April, the UK is set increase vehicle excise duty paid by people on buying a new diesel vehicle. This move from the government could affect JLR as 90% of their vehicles consist of diesel engines.
