Landrover to announce 1300 redundancies in Solihull

1.00.51pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 15th Feb 2006

Land Rover is expected to announce 1300 redundancies at it's Solihull base at a meeting with unions this afternoon.

The redundancies follow Land Rover's decision to move production of the Freelander to Halewood, announced over two years ago.

Production of the Freelander is set to finish at Solihull by the end of the summer, and be resumed at Halewood in the autumn.

Land Rover are hoping to achieve the changes through voluntary redundancy, and have set aside £4million for re-training and assistance. They say they will be offering 'class leading terms' for those who want to go.

Solihull's MP, Lorely Burt has reacted with dismay to news of the announcement, saying:

"1300 redundancies represents a significant proportion of the 8000 workforce employed locally at Land Rover. The loss of these jobs will be a severe blow for workers, their families and the local economy. It will take some time for the area to recover.

"I will be talking to Land Rover to try to ensure the best possible terms and re-training for employees who chose to go, and I understand some jobs are being offered at Halewood."