Jaguar Land Rover axes 450 jobs

The cuts, including 150 agency staff, follow the "severe reduction" in demand for new cars, said the company.

Jaguar Land Rover also announced that managers will not receive any bonuses this year, while pay rises have been deferred to October.

The company said it had started consultations with employee representatives on the proposed redundancy programme, adding: "No company wants to lose skilled and experienced employees in any condition. Throughout the process we will ensure employees are treated with dignity."

The firm, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, has 15,000 employees with plants in Coventry, Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood on Merseyside.

Jaguars are made at Halewood and Castle Bromwich, while Land Rovers are produced at Halewood and Solihull. A wood veneer plant at Coventry supplies both marques, while the company has two research and development centres in Coventry and Gaydon.

The news about Jaguar came as administrators for music, DVD and games retailer Zavvi closed another 18 UK stores with the loss of 353 jobs.

The list of stores closing with immediate effect includes the chain's flagship Piccadilly store, where 110 people are employed. The other stores to close are at Basingstoke, Belfast Castlecourt, Cambridge, Cheshire Oaks, Crawley, Londonderry, Edinburgh Gyle, Gateshead, Glasgow Argyle Street, Grimsby, Hull, Newry, Newtownabbey, Romford, Stevenage, Watford and Woking.

Ernst & Young said the remaining 74 stores in the estate will continue to trade with a view to finding a buyer for all or part of the business. Last week Ernst & Young (E&Y) closed 22 stores with the loss of 178 jobs.

Joint administrator Tom Jack said E&Y had not received any offers for the store portfolio as a whole, despite more than 70 expressions of interest.