Ford abandons plan to create 1,000 jobs

Ford has dropped plans to create 1,000 jobs building its updated small Land Rover at its Halewood factory. It has decided instead to shift workers from the plant’s Jaguar production line, which has cut back output.

Ford said the ‘business scenario had changed’ since the job creation plans were announced more than two years ago. Jaguar has abandoned its growth strategy, closed one of its three plants and lost upwards of £1bn. Ford has just begun seeking 1,200 voluntary redundancies at Solihull, including 1,000 related to the Freelander’s move to Halewood, and expects enough volunteers to have finished the cuts by the summer.