200-plus staff expected to lose jobs at Jaguar

Dec 20 2007

MORE than 200 temporary agency staff at Jaguar Land Rover were expected to lose their jobs today.

About 350 were being interviewed at the Halewood plant’s Heritage Centre where they will find out if they would be kept on.

Union Unite’s national secretary for the motor trade Dave Osborne said the job losses were linked to a management decision not to put the recently refined Jaguar X-Type “facelift” model into the American market.

He said: “That has affected volumes and as a result of that they won’t need the same number of agency people.

“Some agency staff will be offered short-term Jaguar contracts.”

Around 500 agency staff from recruitment firm Manpower were taken on in September 2006 to support the launch of the plant’s second model, the New Freelander 2.

Since then the agency workforce has been cut to between 350 and 400.

One agency worker who joined the company in September 2006 said the temporary staff received letters yesterday with an interview time.

They were told to bring with them their Jaguar-issued overalls, ID and locker keys.

The letter said: “It is essential that you do attend to ensure you are aware of how the changes in agency labour requirements at Halewood will affect you personally.”

The worker, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s just awful. I don’t know what I am going to do. “When we started they said wewould be on a 12 months’ contract and then there might be a full time contract with Jaguar Land Rover.“It is really horrible, specially this time of year.

“I know young fellas holding off buying Christmas presents not knowing whether they will have a job or not.”

He said when he and other agency staff reached the 12 month mark they were told by Manpower to “carry on working as normal.”

The Knowsley car plant shuts down today for its Christmas break.

In a statement a Jaguar Land Rover spokesman said: “The plant is stabilising its production requirements to meet the anticipated ongoing sales demand.

“At the same time efficiency improvements are being implemented.

“As a result a number of the agency employee contracts will be terminated at the end of 2007.

“At the same time 100 new temporary contract positions will be offered to those agency employees who will remain employed at Halewood during 2008.”