Jaguar Land Rover is urging its staff to accept a two year pay freeze and a four-day week in return for the promise of a safeguard on jobs.
There will be no compulsory redundancies in that time-frame if the deal is accepted, the firm assured.
Like most automotive firms worldwide the Tata-owned JLR is experiencing a bottom-out in demand and has already taken measures like line suspensions and redundancies in a bid to combat the crunch. The firm say this latest proposal would see it save £70m.
A JLR spokesperson said: “”We have had a number of constructive meetings with the unions to reach this agreement,” said a company spokesman.
“The unions recognise the severity of the situation and the need to take action to achieve further cost reductions while avoiding further redundancies.”
JLR chief David Smith recently urged government to speed up the process behind the state-sponsored loan scheme for automotive firms. At the CBI’s Manufacturing Dinner he said the scheme would be of no use to the UK car industry if it is held up by red tape.
Van maker LDV became the latest vehicle maker to hit the headlines last weekend when it was speculated that it might just have days to survive. It is asking for an emergency £25m bridging loan from Whitehall.
JLR employs around 15,000 people in its plants across the Midlands.
