JLR boss warns of thousands of job losses

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has cautioned that it may be forced to slash thousands of jobs in coming months unless the UK government comes forth with financial assistance and said parent company Tata Motors is in no position to help because of global downturn in the industry, says media report.

"David Smith, the chief executive of JLR, is understood to have told officials from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) that it will have no choice but to cut 'certainly hundreds and probably thousands' more jobs," the Sunday Telegraph said in a report published online today.

According to the report, JLR has also made the point that its parent company is in no position to help because the downturn in the car industry is global.

"Tata Motors has seen its share price plunge this year, and the company's market capitalisation is now approximately half the value of the sum it paid for JLR," the Sunday Telegraph pointed out.

The report noted that the company has already cut 2,000 posts since its takeover by Tata Motors earlier this year. Tatas had acquired the luxury car maker from American auto giant Ford Motor for more than $2 billion.

"The dire prediction emerged as Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, assembled a team of City advisers from KPMG, the accounting firm, and NM Rothschild, the investment bank, to advise him on the increasingly fraught situation at JLR, which is understood to have requested a package of financial assistance worth about 500 million pounds," The report said.