This week I visited Jaguar Land Rover alongside colleagues from across the city region, our first visit since September’s cyber-hack that brought JLR to a halt globally. Although only the front gate remains in Liverpool Garston since last years boundary changes it is still a vital employer for many people in my constituency.
It was a good chance to catch up with the team and hear how they have recovered from their enforced shutdown, plus some of their plans for the future. Like many of the staff at JLR Site Manager Martin Horne has been with the company for 38 years, starting as an apprentice at 16 and working his way up. He talked us through their transition towards Electric Vehicle (EV) production.
We also went on a tour of the site, where we saw how robots do the heavy manual work of fixing doors onto vehicles before skilled employees finish off the rest of the door. They also showed us their new two-storey production line, the first of its kind in the UK, which allows them to roll a completed vehicle off the assembly line every 90 seconds. It is an incredible feat of engineering made possible by the skills of generations of local people throughout South Liverpool.
Jaguar is essential to the area, with a wide supply chain that brings millions into the local economy. During the shutdown the Labour Government put in place a £1.5 billion emergency fund to protect this supply chain, though fortunately for these smaller companies the cyber attack ended before this was needed but did illustrate Labour’s commitment to workers and protecting our SMEs.