Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is a giant car manufacturer in Europe. It was named the United Kingdom’s number one car producer in 2015. Among its many hailed plants is Halewood in Merseyside Britain. This plant particularly deals with the high-end, pricy Evoque and Discovery Sports models. Its location in the heart of Europe makes for good access to both markets and affordable labor. JLR has enjoyed a lot of success until recently when economic factors, including Brexit, have started affecting its performance. Falling sales in its biggest market, China, and a reduction in diesel sales in Europe have massively contributed to the dismal performance. Diesel vehicles in Europe are currently the focus of hefty tax rises from governments. The uncertainty and anxiety elicited by a no-deal Brexit have also had negative spite on JLR (“JLR Says £110m Investment at Halewood Will Go Ahead despite £1bn Cutbacks”). Another factor that has played a big role in reducing sales is the changes in the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).
JLR has had to make some unprecedented changes in the wake of these financial challenges. The company has reduced its planned investments and implemented cost-cutting measures. The company’s Solihull plant in Lode Lane was temporarily shut down for two weeks (Mullen). Its other plant, Castle Bromwich factory, operated on a three-day week. Massive job cuts have also been reported as JLR aims to save around $2.5 billion (“JLR Says £110m Investment at Halewood Will Go Ahead despite £1bn Cutbacks”). However, the company has been adamant over the stability and security of activities in its Halewood factory. While other plants are bearing the wrath of the cost-cutting measures, Halewood was the beneficiary of a hefty $110 million investment package. This investment not only bolstered operations at the plant but also ensured that Halewood had a long-term future. The plant was picked for the launch and subsequent manufacture of the new Range Rover Evoque. This new model is the successor to the original model which was a huge success. Judging from its exemplary worldwide performance it is safe to predict likewise, if not better, performance for this new model. This judgment is what inspired JLR to increase its investments in the Halewood plant.
The aforementioned information concerning JLR and its Halewood plant can be used to learn a lot about business in general and strategies to use when faced with challenging economic hurdles. First, cost-cutting will come in handy especially in an aim to achieve a lean wage bill. The fear elicited by job losses works to motivate employees to work harder to the benefit of the business. However, cost-cutting should not be implemented in isolation. The reason being reducing expenses alone does not lead to increased revenues. As such, strategic investments should be pursued. This can, for example, involves increasing investments in the largest and most stable revenue-generating sectors of the business. The business should also ensure that the cost-cutting measures are either minimized or totally avoided in these sectors. Job cuts, for example, could affect employee morale and hence productivity.
Secondly, businesses should strive to diversify their operations from a single line of revenue earners. JLR, for instance, only relies on automobile sales for revenues. This can be risky as shown by the recent economic hurdles. The company should diversify to other fields such as technology so as to offset losses from the automobile sector. The company should also avoid manufacturing too many diesel engines going forward. The fact that the company did not predict the additional taxes in a bid to clamp down on diesel vehicles due to their adverse environmental effects shows a poor risk assessment program. Businesses should ensure they have a strong risk assessment program that analyses their products and/or services on a continuous basis and yields viable recommendations.
Works Cited.
“JLR Says £110m Investment at Halewood Will Go Ahead despite £1bn Cutbacks.” Liverpool Business News, 1 Nov. 2018, lbndaily.co.uk/jlr-says-110m-investment-halewood-will-go-ahead-despite-1bn-cutbacks/.
Mullen, Enda. “This Is How Long Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull Plant Will Be Closed For.” Coventrytelegraph, 22 Oct. 2018, www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/how-long-jaguar-land-rovers-15314319.