Jaguar Land Rover to stop production at Nitra plant

TATA MOTORS owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said that it will suspend production in Slovakia.

The luxury automaker will suspend production temporarily at its Slovakia-based Nitra plant following the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

However, JLR, which is owned by the Indian auto giant, said late on Tuesday (17) that some of its limited activities will continue at the Nitra plant.

All of JLR plants in the UK will remain open despite Nitra closure.

The Nitra region has five reported cases of coronavirus, with three in the town itself, according to media reports.

Slovakia has 97 confirmed coronavirus cases, whereas the country has reported no deaths.

The Central European country has declared a state of emergency and has shut borders to those without permanent residency in the country.

Britain’s largest carmaker currently employs around 1,500 people in Nitra, 98 per cent are Slovak nationals and 30 per cent are women.

In 2018, JLR opened its state-of-the-art £1 billion manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia.

The new 300,000sq m facility stands at the forefront of aluminium manufacturing and engineering expertise in Slovakia, with an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year, according to the automaker.

Meanwhile, the auto company said a staff member at one of its British satellite facilities, a small site which is not one of the firm's manufacturing locations, has tested positive for coronavirus and is in self-isolation.

"We have informed anyone who has been in close contact with them at work and told them also to self-isolate for 14 days," the company said in a statement.

JLR plans to keep making vehicles at its domestic factories until at least the end of the week despite the impact from coronavirus, which has shut many other car plants.

"All of our UK plants remain open, and we plan to keep building cars until at least the end of the week subject to the ongoing supply of parts," it said in a statement.