Daily Post’s rallying call to Government to help Jaguar Land Rover through crisis
SIGN our petition online now at the Downing Street website: www.tinyurl.com/no10jlr
The Daily Post takes up the fight to back Jaguar Land Rover’s bid for Government support. David Bartlett reports
TODAY, the Daily Post launches a campaign urging the Government to provide Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with the support it needs to help it through the economic crisis.
The company, which employs more than 2,000 people at its Halewood plant, has called for a state-sanctioned loan or credit guarantee at commercial rates to enable it to ride out the slump.
Owners Tata have already pumped in an estimated £600m of extra cash to help JLR stay in production until the world money markets, the usual source of working capital, begin operating normally again.
They are also in negotiations with the Government over help, but none has yet been forthcoming.
Alongside our sister paper, the Liverpool Echo, and our Trinity Mirror stablemates the Birmingham Post and Mail in the Midlands – where thousands of jobs also depend on JLR – today we call on the Government to supply a loan or loan guarantee of between £500m and £1bn.
Last night, the region’s key automotive body, the Northwest Automotive Alliance, and Tony Woodley, the leader of Britain’s biggest union and the man once labelled “The Saviour of Halewood”, threw their backing behind our campaign.
Neil Barlow, chief executive of the Northwest Automotive Alliance, said JLR was too important to the region’s economy for its future to be left to chance.
“We have estimated the value of the cars going through the plant to give it a turnover of around £2bn. It is a key manufacturer for the region.
“The problem is that no-one buys a Freelander in the middle of a recession.
“If JLR can get over this situation, then the future looks quite bright.
“The company needs a cash injection at the moment, but the future is very bright for the brand.
“The alliance is most definitely supportive of the campaign.”
He said alongside Vauxhall in Ellesmere Port, Bentley in Crewe and Leyland Trucks in Leyland, there are four global vehicle manufacturers in the North West – more than any other region.
The recent fall in the value of the pound against the euro and the US dollar was good news for UK manufacturing, as it makes the cost of production more competitive, he added.
