Category Archives: Manufacturing sector

No bailouts for Jaguar Land Rover amid reports of thousands of job cuts, says minister

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Carmaker, which is battling Trump tariffs and Chinese competitors, faces talks with union leaders and government

The government has signalled that it will not invest taxpayers’ money to limit job losses at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), after it emerged that the UK’s biggest carmaker is planning up to 4,000 redundancies.

Before crunch talks on Tuesday between JLR, union leaders and government officials, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said it was not his job to “intervene and run businesses”.

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VW workers boo boss as he urges them to ‘pull together’ amid job cuts

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Oliver Blume faces workforce at German HQ as carmaker struggles against Chinese competition and US tariffs

The chief executive of Volkswagen has faced boos and whistles of protest at the company’s headquarters after telling thousands of workers that a comprehensive reorganisation, which could include job losses and factory closures, is vital for its future.

As Oliver Blume urged more than 10,000 workers on Tuesday to “pull together”, saying drastic restructuring measures at the struggling manufacturer were essential, they held up banners and shouted slogans, including: “Our jobs are not your balance sheet adjustments”.

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Jaecoo owner Chery takes ‘next step’ in UK push with R&D centre

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Owner of firm behind ‘Temu Range Rover’ will open facility in Bedfordshire in autumn

The Chinese carmaker behind the irreverently nicknamed “Temu Range Rover” is plotting further UK expansion with a major research and development centre in England.

Chery, which makes the Jaecoo and Omoda car brands, said the launch of a new R&D site was “the next step in our long-term plan” for Britain as it also moves towards manufacturing its cars in the UK.

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Chinese EV sales surge to new high in Europe putting tariffs under scrutiny

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Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK

Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy.

Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are “dumping” state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers.

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BMW to cut ‘as many as 8,000 jobs’ under pressure from Chinese rivals

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Layoffs will come in admin and development divisions in Germany, with production operations unaffected

BMW is planning to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in Germany, according to reports, in the latest sign of Europe’s largest carmakers reducing costs under pressure from Chinese rivals.

The Munich-headquartered company has started a voluntary redundancy programme agreed with employee representatives, a BMW spokesperson said on Wednesday.

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Shares in Asian chip firms plunge further as AI sell-off continues

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Drop comes after South Korean company SK Hynix’s results undershoot investors’ expectations

Shares in companies linked to AI have plunged further after disappointing results from the South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, which sent the country’s stock market tumbling for a second day in a row.

Seoul’s Kospi index, which is dominated by semiconductor manufacturers, slid by as much as 12.6% at one point on Wednesday, following on from a near 11% slump the previous day, reaching its lowest level since early April.

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Mass job cuts loom at VW as profits fall steeply on China sales slump

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Carmaker expects to sell 3% fewer vehicles this year as it pushes through a programme that could eliminate 100,000 roles

Volkswagen has reported a steep fall in profits and cut its revenue forecast amid a sales slump in China, as the German carmaker pushes through a brutal cost-cutting programme that includes axeing up to 100,000 jobs.

VW said it expects sales to fall by up to 3% this year, a reversal of a previous forecast for a 3% increase on last year’s €321.9bn (£275.3bn), because of a sales slump in the highly competitive Chinese market.

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Airbus to test folding wings for next generation of bestselling planes

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Such technology solves problem of longer, thinner, energy-saving wings not fitting in airports around the world

Airbus has said it will test folding wings for the next generation of its bestselling planes, as the world’s largest planemaker races to work out the shape of future commercial aircraft by the end of the decade.

Longer, thinner wings made of light but strong composite materials offer the promise of energy savings but present a problem for manufacturers because they will not fit in airports around the world, many of which are already at or near full capacity.

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China ‘strongly dissatisfied’ with nationalisation of British Steel

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Move dealt ‘severe blow to Chinese companies’ confidence in investing in the UK’, says Ministry of Commerce

China’s government has said it is “strongly dissatisfied” with the decision to nationalise British Steel this week, 15 months after the UK government stepped in to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs.

On Thursday, British Steel was brought under public ownership to protect “the future of steel production”, the government announced.

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High court rejects most of ‘dieselgate’ claims brought by 1.6m UK car owners

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Carmakers welcome ruling against suit claiming manufacturers including Nissan, Ford and Peugeot fitted devices to defeat emission tests

Car manufacturers have welcomed a high court verdict that rejected most of the allegations in a “dieselgate” claim brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK owners of polluting cars.

In her judgment, Lady Justice Cockerill said that “in the majority of instances, the court found that the relevant strategy did not constitute a prohibited defeat device” – software that enables the engine to behave differently in tests.

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Shares in chipmakers underpinning AI boom rocket in first half of 2026

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Value of some chip manufacturers have tripled, or more, driving Asia Pacific stock markets sharply higher

Shares in chipmakers have surged in the first half of this year as investors piled into companies that make the hardware underpinning the AI boom, according to analysis.

Investors have driven up the value of semiconductor and memory chip manufacturers, whose profits have soared during 2026, at the expense of some large software companies, which have fallen out of favour this year.

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‘Fork in the road’: CEO of Amazon-backed Rivian on why carmakers need to invest in EVs

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RJ Scaringe says firms focused on selling fossil fuel engines risk being ‘woefully behind’ on technology by end of decade

Carmakers that focus on selling fossil fuel engines are at risk of being “woefully behind” on technology by the end of the decade, according to the boss of Rivian, an Amazon-backed US electric carmaker.

RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and chief executive, said the car industry has reached a “fork in the road” in the choice between short-term profits and the heavy investments, particularly in software, that will be required to survive.

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Britain ‘faces deindustrialisation’ without relief from high energy prices, survey warns

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Make UK says manufacturers’ feedback shows sector at risk of collapse as it calls on Treasury to take action

Britain’s industrial sector is at risk of collapse as thousands of companies warn that they could face bankruptcy within the next year because of high energy prices, according to an industry survey.

The manufacturers’ body Make UK said the latest feedback from its members found that many would not be able to cope for much longer with energy costs that were twice the average in continental Europe and four times higher than in the US.

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UK poised to water down 2030 EV sales targets after industry and union pressure

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Keir Starmer ready to overrule Ed Miliband after warnings that manufacturers would be penalised and jobs put at risk

The UK government is poised to water down its 2030 targets for electric vehicle sales after intense lobbying by the car industry and unions.

The government is preparing to consult on less ambitious targets for the transition to fully battery-powered electric cars over the rest of the decade after carmakers and unions warned that they would penalise manufacturers and put jobs at risk.

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Unions attack ‘year-long delay’ for Tata Steel furnace’s grid connection in south Wales

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Government urged to help speed up vital industrial project amid growing alarm over National Grid delays

Trade unions have called for the government to intervene to speed up Tata Steel’s connection to the electricity grid in south Wales, after the company said its new furnace would be delayed by up to a year.

Tata Steel last month told investors that National Grid had said it would face a six- to eight-month delay. That could stretch to 12 months amid unexpected engineering difficulties.

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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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