The British government has contacted Ford following a report the US automaker is to sell luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, an official spokesman said on June 12 amid concern for the fate of British jobs. Ford is understeood to have hired investment bankers to help sell Jaguar and Land Rover, which together employ 19,000 workers in Britain.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters that the government was "in touch" with Ford. Ford has yet to confirm a story in the Financial Times that the ailing US company had instructed investment bankers at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC to sell the brands. There have been market rumours that private equity groups, often criticised for asset-stripping, could be interested.
Blair meanwhile believes that Jaguar and Land Rover have a bright future, whatever the outcome. "We still believe that both Land Rover and Jaguar are highly successful companies and will have a highly successful future," Blair's spokesman told reporters.
But Britain's biggest union Unite voiced concern over the possible sales.
"We are seeking an urgent meeting with Jaguar/Land Rover," said Unite's national secretary for the car industry, Dave Osborne.
"We have been pressing for assurances for the future from Jaguar/Land Rover and will redouble those demands now," he added in a statement.
Three months ago Ford sold the iconic sports-car maker Aston Martin to a British consortium for 479 million pounds (923 million dollars). Ford sold the sports car brand to free resources to invest more in its core brands, after losing a record 12.7 billion dollars in 2006.
On June 12, British deputies joined union leaders in expressing disapproval at Ford's "planned" sales of Jaguar and Land Rover.
Labour MP John McDonnell tabled a parliamentary motion against sale of the brands to a private equity company. "We know from numerous experiences that private equity companies have no interest in the workforce and descend like locusts to asset strip businesses in their own interest," he said.
"I am calling on the government to intervene to prevent this sale which could result in huge job losses and the consequent impact on those local communities affected." Ford bought independent carmaker Jaguar in 1989 for 2.5 billion dollars and Land Rover for 2.7 billion dollars from BMW in 2000.