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Jaguar Land Rover data leak reveals employee records, upcoming layoffs

A massive data leak has revealed the personnel files of hundreds of employees at Jaguar Land Rover's factory in Solihull, England. The documents reveal details such as sick days used, disciplinary issues and — most notably — red lines indicating potential firings in the weeks or months ahead. In total, the personal records of more than 600 workers were released. JLR is scrambling to contain the crisis. The breach was first reported by the Huffington Post UK, with the automaker initially claiming the story was "fake news." That publicity gaff certainly didn't help matters, especially for employees staring at their name with a red line slashed across it. Last month, the British automaker had said it would be eliminating roughly 1,000 employees at factories in the U.K. The Solihull plant, which produces models like the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Jaguar F-Pace and Jaguar XE, was among those mentioned in the statement. JLR, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata Motors, is facing a steep drop in sales, particularly in its home market. The main culprits include a huge slump in sales of diesel-powered vehicles - a vital part of JLR's business in the U.K. and throughout Europe - along with fears about how the upcoming "Brexit" will affect business operations. In the HuffPost UK story, one worker called the situation "disgusting" and "embarrassing," adding that people at the factory now know whether they, or their colleagues, are soon due to lose their job. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Getty Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover economy data

Autoblog Minute: New Civic, FCA UAW Agreement, Frankfurt

FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. FCA reached a tentative labor agreement with UAW leadership. The major focus of the new deal reportedly includes: the eventual elimination of the two-tier pay scale [00:00:30] and pooling worker health care. Now that a leadership agreement is in place, the deal will be sent to FCA's rank-and-file. FCA has about 36,000 hourly employees. We got a first look at the interior and exterior of the 10th-generation Civic. Honda expects the new sedan to dominate the C-segment when it hits dealerships later this fall. Civic coupe, five-door hatchback, Si and Type R will all come later. The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is in the books and there was a lot of news to get excited about. [00:01:00] Porsche introduced a fully electric concept car in the Mission E. If they make this car, Porsche could give Tesla nightmares. We also saw SUVs from Jaguar and Bentley. There were two beautiful Italian convertibles from Ferrari and Lamborghini. Meanwhile, Mercedes introduced a concept of their own in the IAA - a vehicle that experiments with adaptable aerodynamics. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus we'll have some added insight on General Motors' deal to [00:01:30] avoid federal prosecution. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. UAW/Unions Frankfurt Motor Show Bentley Chrysler Ferrari Honda Jaguar Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Tesla Convertible SUV Concept Cars Electric Supercars Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video porsche mission e concept

Jaguar puts Mourinho on ice

There is principal among the persecuted to embrace insults and turn them around. That's how the gay community turned "queer" from a pejorative term into a badge of pride. Now Jaguar has done the same with "footballer's car." While this has been generally seen as the UK equivalent of a "rapper's car," generally a big four-wheel-drive such as a Range Rover, blinged up so as to make it unusable off-road, Jaguar has taken the curious step of deliberately putting a footballer in the new F-Pace. Before you can even buy a Jaguar F-Pace, the company has taken ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho to Northern Sweden to drive a prototype on ice. And there is not an ounce of bling about the event. It was run on 60 km (37 miles) of frozen lake at Jaguar Land Rover's extreme testing facility in Arjeplog, Sweden, which is 40 miles from the Arctic Circle. And it's not just JLR engineers who get to do this. Jaguar sells the "Jaguar Ice Drive Experience," while Porsche has something similar and if you really want to go for it there is a company that does it in Porsches, Maseratis, and the wonderful Alfa 4C. But those are not footballers' cars. Jag quotes Mourinho as saying, "The experience was magnificent. For people in my world, I think a few days in a place like this is magnificent." However even if you read it in a Spanish accent it still sounds like it was written by a PR man. Ditto the quote "I am always learning. Even in football, which is an area that obviously I feel that I'm an expert, I'm never perfect and I always learn." What Jaguar gets out of the association is some quotes about Mourinho's plans – he's going to stay in the UK – which means the major UK papers might pick it up. They probably will and then ignore all the cool ice driving stuff. What we get as car nuts is some awesome footage of the car power-sliding with rooster tails of snow. It's a good looking car; I've seen some testing on the roads around Jaguar's home of Coventry and did a double take. It's a little Macan-like but better looking. I've driven the F-Type with both the 375-HP V6 used in the Mourinho F-Pace piece and the 550-hp supercharged V8, and the V6 is plenty. Until you drive the V8, which blows your mind way. Indeed I have the letter on my desk pleading guilty to the fixed penalty (62 in a 50) that I picked up in the F-Type. What you can't tell from the video is how good the V6 sounds. How it does a nice little wake-the-neighbours blip when you switch it on.