India's Tata Acquires Jaguar, Land Rover For 2.3 Billion Dollars

[Devinda_Z]

Jaguar Land Rover bailout talks

Jaguar Land Rover is reportedly in secret talks with UK officials over a £1bn bailout. Officially Peter Mandelson has said that the UK Government is considering help for the struggling car companies but that large bailouts industrial bailouts would not be provided.

Jaguar Land Rover was bought from Ford Motor Company by Indian car maker Tata Motors and like many automotive companies is struggling with the strain of the economic crisis. Mandelson is said to be considering the situation, although the business secretary has added that the primary responsibility for Jaguar Land Rover should lie with its owners, Tata. Talking to Sky News Mandelson said, "I've had discussions with the owners of Jaguar Land Rover in particular because they are under particular strain." He added: "I don't have an open cheque book. It's the taxpayers' money and we have a responsibility to the taxpayer. There is not going to be a great long list of industrial bailouts. It's not right, it's not possible." The final decision on the bailout will lie with Gordon Brown who, for the moment, remains undecided.

Source: http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?mn...r+bailout+talks

[dinosh]

Not surprised to see these 2 brands joining the club!

[SAGARIS]

Jaguar Land Rover bailout talks

Jaguar Land Rover is reportedly in secret talks with UK officials over a £1bn bailout. Officially Peter Mandelson has said that the UK Government is considering help for the struggling car companies but that large bailouts industrial bailouts would not be provided.

Jaguar Land Rover was bought from Ford Motor Company by Indian car maker Tata Motors and like many automotive companies is struggling with the strain of the economic crisis. Mandelson is said to be considering the situation, although the business secretary has added that the primary responsibility for Jaguar Land Rover should lie with its owners, Tata. Talking to Sky News Mandelson said, "I've had discussions with the owners of Jaguar Land Rover in particular because they are under particular strain." He added: "I don't have an open cheque book. It's the taxpayers' money and we have a responsibility to the taxpayer. There is not going to be a great long list of industrial bailouts. It's not right, it's not possible." The final decision on the bailout will lie with Gordon Brown who, for the moment, remains undecided.

Source: http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5gmain.jsp?mn...r+bailout+talks

Apparently TATA is gonna sponsor Ferrari F1, Hmmmmmmmmmmm mixed signals for me. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/236664/

[Devinda_Z]

Apparently TATA is gonna sponsor Ferrari F1, Hmmmmmmmmmmm mixed signals for me. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/236664/

note post #13

http://forum.autolanka.com/index.php?s...amp;#entry83441

[GTAm]

Apparently TATA is gonna sponsor Ferrari F1, Hmmmmmmmmmmm mixed signals for me. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/236664/

Ratan Tata sits on the Fiat main board. He has openly said that he would like to have a stake in Ferrari. This could be a first step.

There's also a talk of Fiat and Tata consolidating further to survive the long term. Italian press carried rumours of FGA and PSA merging as well.

Interesting times ahead....

[Devinda_Z]

Italian press carried rumours of FGA and PSA merging as well.

Interesting times ahead....

hmmm don't u think some anti competitive practice EU legislation might just throw a spoke in the wheels i fear..

[GTAm]

hmmm don't u think some anti competitive practice EU legislation might just throw a spoke in the wheels i fear..

No way PSA and FGA together will be only as big as VW Group. Anyway it's not very promising given that there are vast cultural differences between the two and the only real advantag ethey can gain is sharing development costs. On the other hand if one of them mergers with a US or Jap company then there's access to new markets (US and Asia) as well as RWD platforms.

But many believe these are scary stories made by the companies themselves to get govt funds. "While everyone is in the mood of giving....why not put our fingers in to the honey jar?" seems to be car makers mantra these days.

VW has asked for 10bn.

[Devinda_Z]

No way PSA and FGA together will be only as big as VW Group. Anyway it's not very promising given that there are vast cultural differences between the two and the only real advantag ethey can gain is sharing development costs. On the other hand if one of them mergers with a US or Jap company then there's access to new markets (US and Asia) as well as RWD platforms.

But many believe these are scary stories made by the companies themselves to get govt funds. "While everyone is in the mood of giving....why not put our fingers in to the honey jar?" seems to be car makers mantra these days.

VW has asked for 10bn.

when you said RWD platforms, the Australians came to mind..

any idea how thier car industry is coping with all this?

after thier mainstay cars are made by 2 of the big 3 at the end of the day, so how do you recon thier regional operations have been affected by all this?

[Devinda_Z]

Jaguar Land Rover offers its workers no job cuts in return for four-day week and a pay freeze

By Karl West

Last updated at 12:27 AM on 25th February 2009

Struggling car maker Jaguar Land Rover has agreed there will be no compulsory job cuts for 18 months in return for a pay freeze and a reduction in hours.

Under the proposals, staff will work a four-day week by cutting their hours from 35 a week to 32, and pay rises will be put on hold until October 2010.

The deal is likely to receive overwhelming support from the company's 15,000-strong workforce.

The firm has cut around 1,800 agency, production and management jobs in recent months because of the downturn in the motor industry.

Workers at the company's sites, including Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside, will vote in the coming week on the proposed deal, which is aimed at saving up to £70million annually in costs.

Jaguar Land Rover is owned by Indian conglomerate Tata Group, which also owns the former British Steel group Corus. It snapped up the iconic marques for over £1billion from US giant Ford just last March.

However, the car market has gone into reverse since then, leaving the car maker's new Indian owners with a large debt burden.

Analysts say this is why the British firm and Tata have been some of the more vocal parties pressing government to step in with a package of loans to bail out the country's battered car industry.

A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said: 'We have had these discussions and have come to an agreement with the union leadership and they have to now take it to the membership to vote on.

'The whole intent was that we would work with the unions to cut cost without further redundancies.'

Dave Osborne, national officer of Unite, said: 'We have now outlined the details of the framework agreement to shop stewards across Jaguar Land Rover.

'They overwhelmingly supported the recommendation from the negotiating committee that this document should go to our members with a recommendation that it is accepted.

'The agreement includes a shorter working week for manufacturing, with a two-hour reduction in production and a one-hour reduction in pay. It will be a four-day week in manufacturing areas.'

Global car sales have taken a sharp fall as hard-pressed consumers are delaying expensive new purchases because of the recession.

Recent figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that UK car production fell almost 59 per cent in January, as major players like Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall all scaled back their operations.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson this month agreed to extend a package of loans to help the industry - this included guarantees to unlock loans of £1.3billion from Europe plus £1billion from Britain to fund investment in more environmentally friendly vehicles.

The scale of the problem facing the sector was underlined by dramatic claims by van maker LDV that it faced having to shut down with the potential loss of up to 6,000 jobs unless the government stepped in with a £30million loan.

LDV is owned by Mr Mandelson's wealthy Russian friend, the metals magnate Oleg Deripaska.

Mr Deripaska was at the centre of political controversy last year over his dealings with Lord Mandelson.

A junior minister has had to take charge of negotiations with the firm, which is begging the Government for a bridging loan because it is 'literally running out of cash'.

Around 6,000 British jobs are in the balance. However, the government has told LDV it would not bail it out.

Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11...ay-freeze.html#