Jaguar Land Rover has been in the news a lot recently. The company posted its biggest profit in a decade back in May, thanks mostly to the success of the Defender. But it’s also faced criticism for its handling of Jaguar, which recently underwent a controversial rebrand, and currently doesn’t sell cars.
Now, the company is laying off up to 500 employees in the United Kingdom.
JLR says it’ll offer 1.5 percent of its workforce a “voluntary redundancy package” to eligible employees, with the expectation that no more than 500 individuals will accept. The UK carmaker says the package is targeted towards managerial roles, but didn’t specify which of its facilities or departments are affected.
“As part of normal business practice, we regularly offer eligible employees the opportunity to leave JLR through limited voluntary redundancy programs,” a spokesperson told Autocar.
Trump Tariffs Cause Ripples In the Industry
Why the reduction in workforce, despite a hugely successful year? Well, a lot can change in a few months. Since the end of JLR’s fiscal year (March 31st, 2025), President Donald Trump implemented tariffs of 25 percent on all foreign-built vehicles coming to the US. Jaguar Land Rover immediately stopped shipments to the US once the tariffs were implemented, and has only recently begun shipping cars here again.
Unsurprisingly, the company partly blamed tariffs for the 10.7 percent reduction in worldwide sales last quarter. The other major factor is Jaguar, which doesn’t build any cars right now. It’s gearing up for an all-electric rebrand, set to launch sometime in early 2026.
The one bit of good news is the newly renegotiated tariff rate of 10 percent for the UK. That means Range Rover models, which are all built in England, won’t be as heavily taxed when they arrive in the US. But Defenders, which are built in Slovakia, are still subject to the full 25 percent tariffs. Not great, since it’s the company’s most popular model.