Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: ``Today's announcement of Jaguar Land Rover's business plan shows how focused it is on the future of the industry and the opportunities available as we move to a low carbon future.
"I welcome the commitment that Tata is showing in the highly-skilled workforce employed by JLR in the West Midlands and Merseyside as well as the top-class models it produces. 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. Its a testament to the workforce, who have made the plant one of the most productive in Europe.
"The Government has shown its support for this project with investment of s27 million announced earlier this year. JLRs new plan also outlines its continued support for the development of ultra low carbon technologies and product design to position the models more competitively in the global marketplace.
"The Government will continue to do everything it can to help businesses fully exploit the opportunities that green manufacturing has to offer. I know that trading conditions are difficult for the car industry as a whole. It is inevitable that we will see further re-structuring across the industry.
"There is global over-capacity and car manufacturers recognise that they have to take some of this capacity out and cut back on their costs. There are opportunities and thats why we must continue to innovate and lead the way. I welcome the fact that JLR has already implemented a number of proposals to improve its long-term prospects."
The company is planning to close its final salary pension scheme to new entrants from next April and switch them to a defined contribution scheme, a move already made by many leading UK companies.
Virtually all of JLRs employees belong to the final salary scheme.
The firm employs 14,500 workers at its three manufacturing plants in Halewood, Solihull and Castle Bromwich as well as other sites including engineering and research centres in Gaydon and Whitley in the West Midlands.
Link: Jaguar Land Rover to close one West Midlands factory
