Category Archives: Manufacturing sector

UK consumers likely to face higher prices ‘for many months to come’

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Data shows even if Iran war ends, shop price inflation on rise, while only 16% of firms left unscathed by conflict

Higher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”.

Disruption to global shipping, coupled with soaring prices for energy and raw materials, have driven up costs for UK companies, with the impact already filtering through to prices paid at the tills, according to fresh inflation figures.

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JLR and General Motors eye £900m contract to build new range of military trucks

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Carmakers aim to expand into UK defence sector, exploiting spending boom by Nato countries

Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors are considering an expansion into UK defence via a £900m military contract, as carmakers seek to exploit a spending boom by Nato countries racing to rearm.

The manufacturers are among a group of automotive firms vying to make thousands of 4x4s for the armed forces to replace an ageing fleet of Land Rovers that have been out of production since 2016.

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Iran war costs Toyota £3bn as prices of materials soar and sales fall

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Carmaker gives one of biggest warnings yet of conflict’s impact on businesses while Trump tariffs also take toll

Toyota has reported a £3bn hit from costs from the war in Iran, as prices of parts and materials soared and sales dropped.

The world’s biggest carmaker said profits declined in its financial year to March as it was “likely unable to absorb newly added impact from the Middle East”, in one of the largest warnings yet of the war’s impact on businesses.

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Jaguar Land Rover could have shifted production from UK without £380m battery subsidy, officials warned

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Government officials said in December that Britain’s largest automotive employer could lead exodus from UK

Jaguar Land Rover would have considered moving car production out of the UK and slashing jobs if not for a £380m subsidy for its sister battery company, government officials claimed privately.

Officials at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) warned in December that Britain’s largest automotive employer may have triggered an exodus from the UK car industry, according to state aid documents prepared by the competition regulator.

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‘Look, no hands’: China chases the driverless dream at Beijing car show

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As domestic sales slow manufacturers are investing in AI and seeking growth in technology and in overseas markets

At the world’s biggest car fair, which opened in Beijing on Friday, there were hundreds of manufacturers, more than 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts – and hardly anyone behind a wheel.

China’s car companies have cornered the domestic electric vehicle market, and are increasingly visible on the global stage. Now they are turning their attention to what they are betting is the future of mobility: autonomous driving.

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GSK reports promising early results in ovarian and womb cancer drug trial

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Mo-Rez reduced or eliminated tumours in over 60% of patients and is expected to be a blockbuster drug

GSK has revealed positive results for a treatment for gynaecological cancers as its chief executive, Luke Miels, seeks to speed up drug development at the group.

The company said that in an early-stage trial Mocertatug Rezetecan, known as Mo-Rez, shrank or eliminated tumours in 62% of patients with ovarian cancer where chemotherapy had failed, and in 67% of those with endometrial cancer.

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Iran war threatens to delay large offshore wind projects in EU and UK

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Industry fears strait of Hormuz closure could disrupt shipping of crucial parts for UK and German North Sea projects

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A string of large offshore wind projects in Europe are facing potential delays as the Iran war threatens to disrupt shipping of crucial parts manufactured in the Gulf.

Industry sources are concerned that components ordered from suppliers in the United Arab Emirates could become trapped if shipping remains effectively blocked through the strait of Hormuz.

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Irish metals refinery is in supply chain that feeds Russian war machine, records suggest

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Shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina have increased sharply since the invasion of Ukraine

A leading Irish metals refinery is part of an international aluminium supply chain that appears to conclude with shipments to arms producers feeding the Kremlin’s war machine in Ukraine, leaked records and public data suggests.

Trading records show that shipments to Russian smelters from Aughinish Alumina, which is located on the Shannon estuary in the west of Ireland and has been owned by the Russian aluminium group Rusal since 2006, have increased sharply since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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Bentley to cut hundreds of UK jobs amid ‘challenging global market environment’

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Carmaker reduces office-based roles and will not fill vacancies ‘to ensure long-term competitiveness of business’

Bentley is to cut 275 jobs in the UK as the carmaker faces a “challenging global market environment”.

The luxury brand, owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, is preparing to launch its first all-electric model but acknowledged it had some work to do to persuade consumers to switch away from internal combustion engine vehicles.

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European Commission proposes ‘Buy EU’ plan to compete against China

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Plan, which aims to preserve jobs in clean tech and low carbon sectors, could include UK if there is reciprocal market access

The European Commission has proposed a “Buy EU” plan to boost domestic low-carbon industries and help the continent compete against China.

The commission published a draft regulation – called the Industrial Accelerator Act – on Wednesday, setting demands for EU-made and low-carbon content on bodies spending public money. The rules mark a major shift in economic thinking from Brussels, long a bastion of open markets.

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Rolls-Royce boss ‘open’ to Germany joining UK’s fighter jet project

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Tufan Erginbilgiç says decision is for the government but German participation remains a possibility

The boss of Rolls-Royce has said he would welcome Germany helping to build Britain’s next-generation fighter jet, arguing it would bring in more business for the project.

The aircraft, designed to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon, is a joint effort between the UK, Italy and Japan. Rolls-Royce is building the engine for the jet, which has attracted fresh attention as plans for a rival Franco-German warplane edge towards collapse.

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Aston Martin issues another profit warning and sells F1 naming rights for £50m

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Struggling British carmaker says earnings for 2025 will be worse than City forecasts as US tariffs hit sales

Aston Martin has warned that its losses will be worse than expected and sold its permanent naming rights to its Formula One team, as the struggling British carmaker battles to stabilise its finances.

The luxury carmaker, majority-owned by the Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, said its earnings for 2025 would be worse than City forecasts, its fifth profit warning since September 2024.

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Boost to British Steel as Turkey places high-speed rail order

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‘Eight-figure agreement’ made to supply new line between Ankara and İzmir – but questions over plant’s future remain

British Steel has secured an order worth tens of millions of pounds to supply rail for a high-speed electric railway in Turkey, amid continuing uncertainty over the long-term future of the government-controlled steelworks in Scunthorpe.

The site will supply 36,000 tonnes of rail to ERG International Group, the company announced, in what it called an “eight-figure agreement”.

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Ineos to cut a fifth of Hull jobs, blaming ‘dirt-cheap’ imports from China

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Company says more roles will be at risk unless UK government supports tariffs to protect industry

Ineos, the chemicals company owned by the billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is to cut a fifth of jobs at its East Yorkshire plant, blaming “sky high” energy costs and “dirt-cheap” imports from China.

The company founded in 1998 by Ratcliffe, who co-owns Manchester United FC, said it would cut 60 jobs at the Acetyls site in Hull, which makes petrochemical products such as acetic acid. It said more roles would be at risk across the industry unless the government stepped in.

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Jaguar Land Rover parts makers asked by banks to put up homes as loan security after hack

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Lobby group says urgent government intervention required as small suppliers on brink of collapse during shutdown

Small companies who supply parts used in Jaguar Land Rover cars have been asked by banks to put up their family homes as personal guarantees in order to access emergency loans, with no direct UK government support on offer for parts makers a month after the carmaker was hit by a crippling cyber-attack.

JLR, Britain’s biggest automotive employer, is considering making advance payments to top-tier suppliers as it tries to restart production after the hack, but smaller parts makers warn they are on the brink of collapse without urgent cash injections.

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Jaguar Land Rover says cyber-attack has affected ‘some data’

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Carmaker has informed relevant regulators and ‘will contact anyone as appropriate’ as investigation progresses

The cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover has affected data held by the carmaker, it has said, as its factories in the UK and abroad face prolonged closure.

JLR, Britain’s biggest carmaker, said on Wednesday that in its investigations into the hack, which first emerged last week, it had now discovered data had been breached.

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Pre-budget lift for Rachel Reeves as UK business confidence rises

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Despite concerns about economy, poll shows optimism about trading prospects at highest level since 2014

Confidence among UK businesses has grown despite anxiety about the state of the economy, in a rare slice of positive news for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in the run-up to her autumn budget.

An August poll of UK companies by Lloyds Bank showed that improved sentiment among manufacturers and retailers helped push overall optimism within UK plc up by two percentage points, with 54% of companies now feeling confident in the current environment.

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Norway wealth fund sells Caterpillar stake over Israel allegations

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World’s largest wealth fund says it has excluded bulldozer maker and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds

The world’s largest wealth fund has excluded Caterpillar, the construction equipment manufacturer, over Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.

Norway’s $2tn (£1.5tn) fund said on Monday it had excluded Caterpillar and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds.

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Government to cover pay and pensions at collapsed South Yorkshire steelworks

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Unions receive assurances after state takes control of Liberty Steel plants that collapsed into administration

Workers at the UK’s third-largest steelworks in South Yorkshire have been assured they will receive their pay for August as well as unpaid pension contributions, after a government-appointed special manager took over the collapsed company.

Liberty Steel’s main British business, Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), collapsed into administration on Thursday afternoon after a high court judge ruled that it was insolvent and that its owner, the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, had no prospects of repaying debts of several hundred million pounds.

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Airbus workers vote to strike for 10 days next month in pay dispute

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Unite says stoppages at Broughton and Filton factories could disrupt production of wings and delay deliveries

Thousands of Airbus workers in the UK are to go on strike for 10 days in September in a row over pay that threatens to disrupt the production of aircraft wings.

A series of two-day strikes are planned to begin on 2 September and continue throughout the month at the company’s factories in Broughton, north Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, according to Unite.

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