Prime Minister Andy Burnham said mass car production has a future in Britain; JLR suppliers want help moving into aerospace and defence. They called JLR’s planned 4,000 job cuts a “first visible crack” in a supply chain supporting about 183,000 manufacturing jobs.
Burnham said he would take the suppliers’ concerns seriously, while keeping support for the West Midlands car industry as his priority. The UK is working with the EU over proposed “Made in Europe” rules designed to protect European manufacturers; Burnham has warned that excluding British firms could damage supply chains.
The government has previously suggested grants, lower energy costs and investment in electric vehicles as ways to support the sector. Burnham said supporting industrial transition was part of his reindustrialisation policy.
