9:10 am, July 17, 2020
Automotive giants Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda were among businesses taking part in an online summit to decide on a plan to stem the massive tide of job losses.
Organised by the West Midlands TUC and hosted by West Midlands mayor Andy Street, it came as the Unite union said the region had suffered a ‘devastating’ 8,000 job cuts by a number of major employers in just a week.
The crisis talks were being held yesterday (Jul 16) to develop a strategy that could be submitted to the government.
With the furlough scheme beginning to wind down and ending in October, there are fears more job cuts could be on the way, and Unite believes time for action is running out.
The union is urging the government to plough money into swiftly increasing the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, among other initiatives.
In addition, it wants to see a vehicle replacement scheme brought in, with the emphasis on cars that have been built in Britain or have a large amount of UK-built components. It is also urging backing support for the manufacture of electric CVs, as well as an extended supply chain.
A recent University of Birmingham study revealed that 55 per cent of people employed by the biggest 50 automotive manufacturing businesses in the West Midlands area had jobs in high-risk firms.
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