Jaguar wields axe on marketing operations
Luxury car maker Jaguar is making marketing redundancies as part of a radical turnaround plan, announced last week.
A Jaguar spokesman confirms that parent company Ford will be seeking further synergies between Jaguar and its sister brand Land Rover. Jaguar managing director Mike Wright was moved in June to the new position of director of market strategy, investigating ways in which the two marques could be integrated.
But the company says there will be no changes “in the short term” to its senior line-up of Jaguar global marketing director Martin Runnacles and UK marketing director Ian Major.
Overall, Jaguar is making 1,150 redundancies, including 750 white-collar back-office jobs. It refuses to comment on the exact number of marketing redundancies, but head-count is being reduced by 15 per cent. Unions are balloting on strike action at the company.
At last week’s presentation, the luxury car maker set out a new marketing strategy focused around making “beautiful, fast cars”.
Ford also announced it was withdrawing Jaguar from Formula One and has put the team up for sale. Jaguar Racing says the team’s marketers are being retained as part of the package for next season.
Jaguar’s advertising is handled by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/ Y&R as part of a global alignment between Ford and WPP Group.
