Jaguar/Land Rover needs £500 million from the UK government to prevent layoffs

Ratan Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) expecting to pick them up and help them fly. Instead, as with nearly every other car manufacturer, he's having to dig them out of a deepening hole. From last December through next month, 1,800 employees have either been laid off, released or asked to leave. According to Tata, if the UK government doesn't give JLR £500 million ($715 million USD) in loan guarantees, more people will have to go.

The government appears to be passing on the request, having already given Land Rover a £27 million ($38 million USD) loan to help it create the LRX. Even as the government is continuing to help JLR secure bank financing, the line on JLR's new request for loan guarantees is that "the primary responsibility for short-term financing or longer-term restructuring rests with the parent company."

[Source: Automotive News]