Jaguar will cease production of its X-Type car by the end of the year, eliminating 300 jobs at its Halewood plant near Liverpool, England. The entry-level X-Type sedan was introduced in 2001 to attract younger buyers. The company said it also intends to shut down the plant for another three weeks this year because of the weakness of the luxury car market.
“Our industry has been especially badly hit by the recession and the premium sector more than others. We have taken unprecedented actions to cut costs, including reduced production volumes, significant cuts to investment plans and some 2,200 job losses. Ceasing production of the X-Type early, with further redundancies and temporary shutdowns at Halewood, is necessary to protect our other investment plans,” David Smith, chief executive, Jaguar said.