Monday, 11 June 2018 ()
Cutting-edge Slovakia plant will now handle all Discovery production, taking over from Solihull
Jaguar Land Rover will build the Discovery solely at its new facility in Nitra, Slovakia, moving production out of its Solihull factory in the UK.
The opening of the Nitra plant was originally intended to take pressure off JLR’s UK factories, since the Solihull plant currently handles all Discovery production. Instead, Nitra will now produce all Discovery models in the latest shake-up.
JRL released a statement about the move, saying: “The decision to move the Land Rover Discovery to Slovakia and the potential losses of some agency-employed staff in the UK is a tough one but forms part of our long-term manufacturing strategy as we transform our business globally.”
The statement also provided details on the refit taking place at JLR's Halewood facility ahead of the next Range Rover Evoque's launch, as well as “a significant investment and technology upgrade” in Solihull in preparation for other upcoming Land Rover models.
In April, JLR laid off 1000 of its 40,000-strong UK workforce following a 21% downturn in UK demand and a 12% decrease in European demand in the first three months of the year.
Autocar is awaiting further comment from JLR.
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