Tata considers more Jaguar/Land Rover cuts after massive loss

GSBot · Jun 26th, 2009, 04:38 PM

2010 Land Rover LR4 - Click above for high-res image gallery

India's Tata Motors has reported a net loss of $520 million (25.05 billion rupees) for the fiscal year ending in March of 2009. Over the same period one year earlier, Tata managed to earn 21.68 billion rupees in profit. What gives? Naturally, the global economic meltdown didn't do the automaker any favors, but the main problem can be sourced back to the poor performance of Jaguar and Land Rover, which the Indian automaker purchased from Ford last year with the help of a $3 billion bridge loan.

The fact that Jaguar Land Rover accounted for $504 million of that $520 million total loss means that more job cuts and plant shutdowns are in store for the ailing British duo. Says Tata Vice Chairman Ravi Kant:

We have sent people on sabbatical, gone for cheaper low-cost country sourcing and tight control in cash flows, and are assisting JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) for a major belt tightening.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Tata was in search of some £1 billion ($1.5B) in cash and underwriting help to pump into the JLR operations.

Gallery: 2010 Land Rover Discovery 4