Tatas could shift JLR factories out of UK: Bhattacharyya

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya was instrumental in persuading Tatas to buy the then ailing JLR in 2008

Tata Motors’ bitter dispute with workers in its UK facility could result in the company shifting Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) factories outside that country, according to the man who helped broker the JLR takeover in 2008.

Kumar Bhattacharyya, instrumental in persuading the Tatas to buy the then ailing JLR, said various countries such as the US, Hungary, Poland and a few West Asian countries, were making “substantial and very tempting offers” to JLR to invest there, according to the Birmingham Post.

Bhattacharyya’s comments follow the JLR workers’ union rejecting a three-year pay-and-conditions offer, which will result in a 14 per cent pay increase. About 96 per cent of the JLR staff has voted against the proposed three-year pay package, raising the prospects of industrial action such as a lockout.

Bhattacharyya, founder and chairman of the Warwick Manufacturing Group, said, “JLR has made what appears to be a generous offer. Yet, in return, it finds itself embroiled in negotiations by newspaper and public opinion.”

On the sidelines of the announcement of JLR’s earnings for the second quarter, the company’s chief financial officer had stated it would enter into a constructive dialogue with the workers’ union and settle the wage dispute at the earliest. However, no timeline was stated. Meetings to break the deadlock have been planned.

“What we are seeing is a glimpse of what happened in the past. Do we really want to go back to the past? Tata is very patient; it wants to see Jaguar Land Rover succeed. But it is an international company.” Bhattacharyya said.