8:21 am, December 2, 2025
Group 1 Automotive is to axe one of its VW service centres, with job losses expected to follow, just months after ending retail operations at the same site.
Car Dealer reported back in May that sales operations at Group 1 VW Telford were to cease trading following a ‘review of corporate support functions’.
The news saw several workers lose their jobs but bosses pledged at the time that some roles would be saved, due to the site remaining open as a standalone VW-authorised repair and service centre.
Now however, the dealer group has decided that these operations will also end and the process of winding the site down is underway, ahead of the doors closing for good at the end of the year.
According to insiders, staff were made aware of the decision last month
One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told Car Dealer: ‘The group announced redundancy for remaining staff members on November 17.
‘They will be closing down the service operation also, due to a site closure.’
In response to an approach by Car Dealer, Group 1 Automotive confirmed the reversal of its previous decision to keep the site open as a service centre.
While some jobs are set to be lost, the firm says it is now working to ‘redeploy as many colleagues as possible’ into other areas of the business.
A Group 1 Automotive spokesperson said: ‘We continually review our strategic options in line with our business needs and operational focus and have unfortunately had to take the difficult decision to close our Telford repair and service centre. The centre will close at the end of the year.
‘We have spoken directly to all the teams impacted and our immediate focus is on supporting our impacted colleagues and working closely with them during this transition.
‘We intend to redeploy as many colleagues as possible and support them to apply for other suitable roles within the business.’
The news comes as Group 1 continues to re-shape its operations in the UK.
Last year, the US firm effectively doubled its footprint on this side of the Atlantic when it acquired Inchcape’s UK dealerships in a £346m deal.
Since then, the American firm is said to have been ‘knee deep’ in cuts with one insider accusing the group of carrying out a ‘cull’ of former Inchcape staff.
In October, the dealer group announced its plan to axe all of its JLR sites with bosses admitting that the UK market remains ‘challenging’.
Group 1 will also be closing its BMW and Mini sites in Stansted and Hindhead before the end of the year, as part of an ongoing ‘review of strategic options’.
