Logistics company, DHL, is gearing up to let go 2200 employees working for the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) factories in the UK. This means, 40 per cent of its workforce working on the JLR contract may be rendered jobless.
The job cuts will happen from JLR’s main factories, including the ones at Castle Bromwich, Solihull, Ellesmere Port and Halewood.
Unless the automotive sector receives a support package from the UK government, most businesses in the sector will have to resort to downsizing because the industry is already struggling to stay afloat amidst dropping sales and economic slump brought about by the pandemic.
Recently, Tata Motors slashed 1100 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures. It had raised its target for cost-cutting at its luxury unit by £1 billion as it had incurred a loss of about £500 million during the lockdown period when production had come to a halt and showrooms were closed.
According to the trade union, Unite, the layoff will reduce DHL’s contract workforce by 40 per cent, and the move has been resorted to solely because of the financial challenges that have cropped up in the automotive sector as a result of the pandemic.
The industry is said to have witnessed the lowest output since World War II.
According to Matt Draper, national officer for logistics, Unite, DHL should go for contract hiring on a project-to-project basis, instead of maintaining full-time employees.
