Business
MPs write to business secretary over JLR supply chain jobs
Richard PriceWest Midlands
UK ParliamentAbout 30,000 people are employed directly by JLR, with a further 200,000 working in the firm’s supply chain.
Antonia Bance – Labour MP for Tipton and Wednesbury and also a member of the Business and Trade Committee – is among the MPs to have written to the business secretary.
She said they were trying to make sure that there was attention on the matter and that the risk to jobs in the supply chain was properly understood.
JLR bosses were limited in what they were able to say, she said, although MPs had received briefings from the firm, but they had not included how long the situation would last.
Getty ImagesShe said she was hearing from supply-chain firms that said they were experiencing cash-flow problems.
This meant some firms were left unsure whether or not they could continue employing staff.
“A number of the plants in my area have sent all of their staff home and stopped production” Bance said.
“Most of them are continuing to pay their staff, but obviously that’s a real financial strain on these sometimes quite small businesses, particularly when there is no end in sight.”
Firms had gone to their own lenders and had been able to extend their overdraft facilities, she added.
JLR had been considering what it could do to support the supply chain, but Bance believed the government could help with a furlough scheme or by guaranteeing loans.
‘Proud industry’
This would help save jobs and skills in the region, she added.
“We are not talking about businesses who are otherwise in trouble, we’re talking about businesses who are thriving, who are looking to take on more staff, and if this cyber attack hadn’t happened would be running up towards Christmas at full tilt,” Bance said.
It would be “completely understandable” if people starting looking for other jobs if they did not feel firms could continue employing them, she added.
Tata, which owns JLR, should be doing “absolutely everything they can, including financial help,” to ensure the supply chain survived, she said.
“I do think there’s a responsibility on the owners, but I do also think that if we want to be a country that makes things again, if we are proud of our industry – and here in the West Midlands we could not be more proud of what we make and what we sell around the world – government may have to step in.”
Minister for industry Chris McDonald said he had met with West Midlands mayor Richard Parker as well as JLR bosses to discuss their plans and would meet with supply chain businesses in the coming days.
“We know this is a worrying time for those affected, and although Jaguar Land Rover are taking the lead on support for their own supply chain, our cyber experts continue to support them to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” he said.
The signatories to the letter included:
West Midlands
- Antonia Bance MP
- Alex Ballinger MP
- Chris Bloore MP
- Laurence Turner MP
- Sureena Brackenridge MP
- Sarah Edwards MP
- Josh Newbury MP
- Gurinder Singh Josan MP
- Sonia Kumar MP
- John Slinger MP
- Valerie Vaz MP
- Preet Kaur Gill MP
- Warinder Juss MP
- Liam Byrne MP
- Jodie Gosling
- Cat Eccles MP
- Dr Allison Gardner MP
- Tahir Ali MP
- Jacob Collier MP
- Rachel Taylor MP
- Matt Western MP
- Gareth Snell MP
Merseyside
- Derek Twigg MP
- Anneliese Midgley MP
- Kim Johnson MP
- Maria Eagle MP
- Bill Esterson MP
- Peter Dowd MP
- Ian Byrne MP
- Paula Barker MP
- Marie Rimmer MP
Business
Hyundai i20 becomes Rs 87,000 cheaper: Now starts at Rs 5.99 lakh – Best time to buy?
Hyundai i20 Price Cut Details: Hyundai Motor India has made the i20 more affordable by cutting prices for several variants. Now the premium hatchback is more accessible to buyers with a starting price of Rs 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom). Earlier, the entry price was Rs 6.86 lakh. That is a big drop for a car in this segment.
Official Statement
Commenting on the announcement, Sunil Moolchandani, National Sales Head, HMIL, said, “With the new starting price of Rs 5,99,000, we are making the i20 experience even more compelling, accessible and desirable for customers. This reflects our commitment to offering value-driven mobility solutions.”
New base variant
The i20 lineup now starts from the Era variant, priced at Rs 5,99,000 (ex-showroom). The variant comes equipped with 6 airbags, digital instrument cluster, front and rear skid plates, body-colour ORVMs and door handles, Type-C USB charger and telescopic steering.
Hyundai has also reduced prices for the mid-level trims. The i20 Magna Executive now costs Rs 6,73,900, compared to Rs 6,86,865 earlier. The i20 Magna is priced at Rs 6,99,900, down from Rs 7,12,385. All prices are ex-showroom.
Hyundai i20 Magna Executive features
The Magna Executive variant comes equipped with a digital cluster, front and rear skid plates, shark fin antenna, Highline Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), automatic headlamps, telescopic steering, keyless entry, electrically adjustable ORVM and steering wheel with audio & Bluetooth controls.
Hyundai i20 Magna features
Building on this, the Hyundai i20 Magna variant further enhances the premium quotient with features such as an electric sunroof, LED DRLs, rear AC vents and front armrest with storage.
Hyundai is also offering a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system as a dealer-installed option. It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and comes with a rear camera. This package costs Rs 14,999 and includes a 3-year warranty on the screen.
Business
Indian stocks settle in red on profit booking; Sensex dips 504 points
New Delhi: Indian stock indices settled lower on Thursday, with analysts attributing the decline to profit booking following the recent uptick after the announcement of the India-US trade deal.
Sensex closed at 83,313.93 points, down 503.76 points, or 0.60 per cent, while Nifty closed at 25,642.80 points, down 133.20 points or 0.52 per cent, respectively.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, Indian equities saw consolidation, as weakness was followed by a sharp rally in recent sessions driven by optimism around the US-India trade deal.
Nair said possibly profit booking was at play today.
“Global cues added further pressure, with concerns over a broad-based tech sell-off in international markets and heightened US-Iran tensions leading to risk-off sentiment. Metals and small-cap stocks were key underperformers, while broader indices reflected cautious trading,” Nair added.
Market participants are now turning their attention to the upcoming RBI policy meeting slated for Friday. “With India’s growth outlook remaining strong, consensus expectations point toward a status quo on rates,” Nair said.
Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, a SEBI – registered online trading and wealth tech firm, said Indian equity markets traded in a tight range, signalling a wait-and-watch phase as investors remained cautious in the absence of fresh domestic triggers.
“While overall sentiment remained stable, the benchmarks struggled to sustain momentum at higher levels, reflecting a lack of follow-through buying despite earlier positives,” Ponmudi R said.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, after the December MPC meeting, characterised India’s current macroeconomic moment as a “rare goldilocks period”, that marks high economic growth and exceptionally low inflation.
The monetary policy committee of the RBI had cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent, after the three-day review meeting that had concluded in December 5.
Business
Nuneaton social supermarket aims to provide affordable food
The charity’s founder says the supermarket also aims to help users get support from other services.
Source link
-
Sports1 week agoPSL 11: Local players’ category renewals unveiled ahead of auction
-
Entertainment1 week agoClaire Danes reveals how she reacted to pregnancy at 44
-
Sports1 week agoCollege football’s top 100 games of the 2025 season
-
Politics1 week agoTrump vows to ‘de-escalate’ after Minneapolis shootings
-
Sports1 week agoTammy Abraham joins Aston Villa 1 day after Besiktas transfer
-
Entertainment1 week agoK-Pop star Rosé to appear in special podcast before Grammy’s
-
Tech1 week agoThe Surface Laptop Is $400 Off
-
Business1 week agoPSX witnesses 6,000-point on Middle East tensions | The Express Tribune

