"Jaguar Land Rover to suspend operations at all UK plants", 19 March 2020

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will close its UK plants over the next week, the last of Britain’s major manufacturers to [shut] its facilities as a result of the coronavirus outbreak,...leav[ing] Volvo’s Swedish operations as the only significant car plant still operating in Europe, following…closures from…Volkswagen to Toyota. JLR’s closures come hours after Ford idled all of its Latin American plants, and…Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler… announced a US-wide shutdown. [JLR] said it is “operating in line with advice from the NHS and Public Health England to minimise the spread of the coronavirus, whilst implementing plans to safeguard its business continuity…”.

[JLR’s]…three plants were the last remaining major sites in Britain, after Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall owner PSA and Mini owner BMW all announced closures of their UK sites. Earlier in the week, JLR announced the closure of its Slovakian facility…[and] the Magna facility [in Austria]…also closed.

Carmakers across the world have been forced to idle production, as the outbreak sapped demand and played havoc with international supply lines. In the US, a shutdown was announced after tense meetings between the three Detroit-based carmakers and the UAW union, which wanted closures to protect plant staff. Several North American plants experienced industrial protests in the days leading up to the announcement, with staff downing tools over health and cleanliness concerns…