Jaguar Land Rover set to recruit 5,000 new staff - WATCH
Growing Jaguar Land Rover is expected to reveal plans to hire an extra 5,000 engineers and technical staff in the next 12 months.
It would increase the luxury car manufacturer’s domestic workforce by almost 15 per cent to 42,000, which includes more than 1,400 at its £1 billion engine manufacturing centre at the i54 to the north of Wolverhampton.
JLR produced 544,000 cars at its three UK manufacturing plants of Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull last year.
It is understood that it needs more electronic and software engineers as the company, which had profits of £1.6 billion on record revenue of £24.3bn for its last financial year, continues to develop the latest self-driving ‘autonomous’ and electric-powered vehicles.
WATCH: Jaguar team up with Brit band Gorillaz on fecruitment drive
Last year, Jaguar launched the I-Pace – its first battery-driven car – and it has a team competing in the Formula E electric racing series.
JLR, which sold 604,000 cars in its last financial year, has also joined forces with the band Gorillaz and is using its app to recruit technology-minded staff.
The alternate reality app has a code-breaking challenge and those who successfully decipher it will be fast tracked through the JLR recruitment process
The company, owned by India’s Tata group, has invested £12bn in its UK sites and in research and development over the past five years.
JLR sold 45,487 cars around the world in May, up just one per cent on the same month last year.
Sales soared 22.7 per cent in China and 15.5 per cent in America, but they were down 11.2 per cent in the UK in May, also falling back in Europe. Jaguar hit a May record with 13,613 vehicles sold, up 28 per cent.
