'Thousands of jobs' to be createdby Jaguar

The new jobs will include 1,500 at the Halewood plant on Merseyside next year, while the other two manufacturing sites at Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West Midlands will be retained, ending fears for their future.

The company said it had ambitious plans for new models and volume growth and announced a “landmark” pay and conditions deal with trade unions.

The agreement, which trade unions will recommend to their members, includes a two-year pay deal worth five per cent from next month, with a further rise of at least three per cent from November next year.

Jaguar Land Rover said it would retain three plants in the UK, leading to the creation of thousands of new jobs in Britain over the next decade and billions of pounds-worth of investment.

The number of models in its range will be “significantly increased”.

Chief executive Ralf Speth said: “This is a triumph for all concerned. We have ambitious plans for growth and the success of our products around the world and this agreement will allow us to accelerate and realise those plans.

“The agreement is a great deal for our workers and the company and we can now really get on with working together to achieve an even more exciting future for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

“We have already started by beginning to hire 1,500 new employees to support the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque at our award-winning Halewood factory in Liverpool.

“Our parent company Tata supported us through the recession and our employees also made sacrifices but now we are seeing a great turnaround in the business and everyone involved – our employees, our customers and our Tata shareholders – will benefit from this agreement.”

The Unite union said it was “fantastic news” for the company and its workers.