Industry News
Unite backs Tata’s bid for Jaguar-Land Rover
23rd November 2007
Following presentations to the Unite trade union on 20 November by Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra and One Equity, the union issued a statement on 21 November saying, “Based on serving the best interests of the union members at Jaguar-Land Rover, the stewards agreed that Tata best fits these criteria.” Tata is said, according to sources quoted by the Financial Times of 21 November, to have committed to the two brands as a long-term investment and endorsed the current managements.
Ford is understood to have previously pressed bidders to make undertakings on jobs and keeping plants in operation.
- Writing in Automotive News online yesterday, British correspondent Tony Lewin said: “Several signs appear to strengthen Tata’s prospects. Its management is very Europe-savvy and keen to learn. It readily admits its products are not yet up to world-class standards.
“In addition, Tata is seeking to establish a major European vehicle development center, marking it as a serious global player. Tata’s European engineers, many of whom have been recruited from the former MG Rover, are currently housed in temporary accommodation on the campus of Warwick University. Jaguar Land Rover’s engineering and design centers at Gaydon and Whitley are only a few kilometers away and are large establishments likely to welcome the security that would come with the incorporation of Tata work as well.
“It remains to be seen whether Ford’s negotiators, charged with realizing as much cash as possible for the company’s assets, will chose the solution that works best for Jaguar and Land Rover -- or the one that’s best for Dearborn.”
- India’s Economic Times reports today that Tata Motors and the Indian Space Research Organisation have signed an agreement likely to lead to the launch of a hydrogen fuelled car prototype next year.
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