Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet with the leadership of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the Unite union to discuss the potential impact of thousands of job cuts at the car manufacturer.
JLR has confirmed to the BBC that it is initiating a voluntary redundancy program. This comes a year after a cyber attack that halted production for over a month.
While the company has not disclosed the exact number of jobs at risk, The Times newspaper has reported that up to 4,000 positions could be eliminated due to the effects of tariffs and a decline in sales.
Speaking on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reynolds stated that the meeting, scheduled for early next week, will focus on strategies to "mitigate any job losses." However, he ruled out the possibility of a government bailout for the company.
Regarding the expected cuts, which are believed to primarily affect white-collar employees, Reynolds commented, "A company the size of JLR, which is a huge British success story, at various times in its business cycle, the number of, directly, people it employs will change.
"If this is about making sure over time that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that's the conversation we need to have."
He clarified that there would be no government support "if it's to bail people out," but indicated openness to "long-term investment in the future" of the company.
These potential job cuts emerge as Chancellor John Healey prepares to deliver a speech in the Midlands on Monday, aiming to stimulate economic growth by altering the government's approach to valuing infrastructure investments, including transport and housing. JLR's headquarters are located in Coventry, in the West Midlands.
The Liberal Democrats have described the news as "devastating" for JLR staff and urged Healey to use his speech to offer "support for those jobs at risk."
"This development lays bare that the government's growth mission is falling far short," stated Sarah Olney, the party's business spokesperson.
JLR has not officially confirmed the extent of the job cuts but has indicated they are intended to "simplify" the business, "improve efficiency, and build greater resilience."
"Today, we informed our colleagues, and trade union partners that JLR is opening a voluntary redundancy programme offering salaried and management team members the opportunity to leave the business," a company spokesperson said.
"We will share further information with our colleagues first." The company did not rule out the possibility of some compulsory redundancies as part of these plans.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned that the automotive industry has been facing a "perfect storm" for some time.
"Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments," she remarked.
Graham also mentioned that "intensive" discussions have been taking place over the weekend to mitigate job losses.
When questioned about the impact of the UK's electric vehicle sales targets on the car industry – which mandates manufacturers to ensure a growing percentage of their annual sales are zero-emission vehicles, reaching 80% by 2030 – Reynolds addressed the issue.
He stated that one of his initial actions as business secretary was to grant the industry more flexibility in working towards this target, and that a further consultation on the matter is ongoing.
"It's not where it needs to be and that's why we're willing to change the regulation to work with where consumer demand is and the industry," he added.
Reynolds also confirmed he had spoken with West Midlands mayor Richard Parker about supporting the business and its employees.
In July, JLR announced that fewer than 300 employees would leave the company as part of cost-saving measures introduced at that time.
The company employs approximately 30,000 people in its UK operations, with an additional 10,000 employees based overseas.
The cyber attack in September 2025 resulted in the shutdown of all JLR manufacturing for several weeks, leading to a complete halt in vehicle production.
This incident caused a 27% reduction in the company's overall production. JLR is one of the largest employers in the West Midlands.
The estimated total cost of the cyber attack and the subsequent loss of manufacturing output was £1.9 billion.
In June, the firm announced plans to cut costs by approximately £1.7 billion over the coming years to aid its recovery from the attack.
At that time, JLR had indicated that these savings would be achieved through reductions in areas such as materials, warranty, and fixed costs.
Additional reporting by Simon Jack
