Jaguar Land Rover Beg for Government Aid, Report Says

LONDON -- Struggling Jaguar Land Rover, which was purchased by India's Tata Motors from Ford Motor Co. earlier this year, reportedly is seeking $1.5 billion in  government aid, although the automaker won't confirm it is seeking aid for itself.
Rather, the automaker acknowledged it has joined the U.K.'s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) in lobbying for government help to help the country's ailing auto industry, the Financial Times reported Monday.

Jaguar Land Rover employs about 15,000 people in the U.K., has three British manufacturing plants and two engineering centres. Ford sold Jaguar Land Rover to Tata in March for $2.3 billion. Since then, its already sliding sales have plummeted. As a result, Jaguar Land Rover announced the elimination of 600 jobs. Its managers are being given a four-week sabbatical at 80 percent of their pay.
"The automotive industry is facing unprecedented trading conditions as a direct fallout of the banking crisis and turbulence in financial markets," the company said. "We are, of course, keeping government appraised of the impact on our business."

Jaguar Land Rover is not the only struggling automaker in the U.K. Last week, Honda announced it would close its Swindon plant for February and March to cope with the slowdown. Toyota, Nissan, GM's Vauxhall, Ford and Bentley have all announced either temporary shutdowns or job cuts in recent weeks.

Automakers argue government help is needed to improve liquidity in the supply chain, support continued investment in carbon-reduction technology and stimulate consumer demand.