Jaguar Land Rover to shut factories for a week after Brexit
Jaguar Land Rover’s factories will shut up shop for a week in November to deal with Brexit, its boss has said.
Asked whether the firm was thinking about shutting the plants, chief executive Ralf Speth said: “We cannot think about it, we just have to do it.”
Read more: Car production numbers post rise for the first time in 15 months
JLR has about 18,500 employees in the UK spread across four factories in the west Midlands and in the north west of England.
The announcement follows on from BMW saying earlier this month that it would have to shut its Mini plant in Oxford for two days after Brexit.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he will take Britain out of the EU on 31 October “no ifs, no buts,” and that he is prepared to accept a no-deal scenario if he must.
But car makers are especially worried about a no-deal Brexit because so many of the parts used in their UK factories come from the EU.
A no-deal scenario would mean Britain must trade on World Trade Organisation rules. That means imports would be subject to higher tariffs than they are now, significantly increasing the cost for car makers.
To compound the issue, a no-deal would lead to increased border checks on these imports, which would significantly slow down the parts coming into the UK.
Read more: Labour hopes to lease 30,000 electric cars to public in climate drive
This would have a knock-on effect on car makers’ just-in-time supply chains, costing them hundreds-of-millions of pounds extra per year.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that the industry would “put up” with more months of Brexit delays if it meant avoiding a no-deal.