Land Rover reveals 1,300 job loss deals

Motor giant Land Rover unveiled details today of a voluntary redundancy programme after confirming plans to axe 1,300 jobs at its main UK plant.

The Ford-owned company said it was confident of achieving the cutback at its plant in Solihull, West Midlands, through voluntary measures.

The firm said it had previously announced moves to switch production of its Freelander model from Solihull to Halewood on Merseyside, affecting 1,000 jobs in the West Midlands.

A new engine for the Defender will be made in Dagenham, Essex, resulting in the loss of another 300 jobs at Solihull.

Land Rover officials were meeting union leaders today to spell out the redundancy terms available to workers who volunteered to leave.

The cuts among the 8,000-strong Solihull workforce will start almost immediately.

Roger Maddison, Amicus's national officer for the automotive industry, said: "This is a sad day but it is entirely expected.

"The Premier Automotive Group announced 18 months ago their intention to transfer production of the new Land Rover Freelander model to the Halewood plant and we have been talking to the company about achieving the best possible terms and conditions of redundancy.

"These jobs may never be replaced in the West Midlands which is a tragedy, but some solace is that these jobs will at least remain in the UK and that the redundancy terms being offered to people are the best the industry has ever seen.

"We and the company are confident that the losses will be achieved through voluntary means."