Potential strike looming for Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover could find itself facing strike action - just weeks after its flagship £500 million engine factory in Wolverhampton was opened by The Queen.
Thousands of workers, members of the Unite union, have rejected a pay offer worth 14 per cent over three years because they say it fails to recognise their role in making the company a global success.
It comes as the company revealed a drop in its most recent profits figures and a fall in its sales in October.
Roger Maddison, national officer at the Unite union, warned: "JLR needs to get back around the negotiating table and hammer out a deal that meets the workforce's expectations and shares the rewards of the company's success fairly.
"Otherwise we will be looking to ballot our members for industrial action across the company's five sites."
An overwhelming 96 per cent of the 14,000 Unite union members across all the company's sites – including the engine factory at Wolverhampton – voted to reject JLR's latest pay offer and proposed pension changes.
In a brief statement following the ballot, a company spokesman said: "Jaguar Land Rover is very disappointed that the trade unions have voted to reject its pay and conditions offer.
"We remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement."
Meanwhile new figures released by JLR revealed pre-tax profits slipped by £59 million, to £609 million, for the three months to the end of September, although sales boosted its revenue figure by £196m to £4.8 billion.
And its October sales figures show a drop of two per cent, to 33,512 cars, with a sharp fall in the US and a marked slowdown in its hugely important Chinese market. JLR said the figures were "largely reflecting production scheduling factors".
Despite the recent slowdown, a storming performance earlier in the year means JLR's profits for the first six months as a whole are up 41.6 per cent on last year, to £1.5bn, while sales are up 16.7 per cent to £10.2bn.
Chief executive Ralf Speth said: "Jaguar Land Rover continues to deliver solid performance and invest in its sustainable future to deliver to its customers special products and experiences that they love for life. These include our latest two landmark models that go on sale in 2015: the breakthrough mid-sized Jaguar XE sports saloon and the highly versatile Land Rover Discovery Sport compact premium SUV."
The XE will be the first car fitted with the new Ingenium diesels being made at the new £500 million engine factory in Wolverhampton.
