Jardine Motor Group is believed to be making 521 redundancies as it moves to close its head offices in Milton Keynes and Colchester.
A source told Car Dealer Magazine this evening that the group’s head office in Milton Keynes and satellite office in Colchester are to be closed.
Consultation with the affected staff has begun at the £2bn turnover dealer group, which employs 3,600 people, today.
It has not been confirmed what job roles are affected by the redundancies.
Neil Williamson, CEO of Jardine Motors Group said in a statement: ‘Following on from the well documented impact that the COVID19 pandemic has had on the automotive industry and UK business, we have made the difficult decision to review the structure of our operations and entered into a period of consultation with our teams across the group.
‘While these are challenging times, our single goal is to ensure we safeguard as many jobs as we can and as a result ensure the longevity of the business.’
Jardine operates from 60 different locations and represents 16 brands including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Land Rover, McLaren and Audi.
At the end of June, Jardine opened a new official Ferrari service centre and approved used dealership in Sevenoaks, Kent. Jardine invested £1.2m in the dealership, featured in the main image.
The job losses are the latest in a devastating period for the motor trade.
Dealer group Lookers announced 1,500 job losses at the start of June.
The dealer group said it would be cutting 20 per cent of its workforce – equivalent of around 12 people per one of its 136 dealers – while Aston Martin, Bentley, McLaren and a host of other car manufacturers have announced job losses too.
At the time, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘Whilst the industry is fundamentally strong and agile, it is not invincible.
‘Global industries are challenged and we need to ensure the UK has in place a comprehensive strategy to support the sector and the highly skilled workforce on whom it depends.
‘As the sector strives to weather the worst storm in a generation, measures to drive cash flow, stimulate demand and, above all, maintain our competitiveness are essential.
‘Governments must double down on efforts to reboot economies, protect jobs and, internationally, work urgently to secure ambitious free trade agreements which avoid tariffs that add onerous cost and stifle global growth.’
Thousands of job losses in car industry
- Rate your manufacturer and favourite suppliers in Car Dealer Power – it takes a few minutes to have your say here
- Join our breaking news WhatsApp group. Broadcast only, no chit chat, and headlines to your phone. Send us a message and ask to join here.
- Download the latest digital edition of Car Dealer Magazine Issue 148 for free here.
