Aston Martin & Bentley Motors Announce Job Losses of Up to 1,5000

Aston Martin and Bentley Motors have both recently announced job cuts as part of cost-saving measures to cope with COVID-19 induced losses and company restructures.

In a recent announcement from Aston Martin, the British auto manufacturer is set to cut up to 500 job roles from its 2600 workforce in a bid to save £38 million as part of its cost-saving strategies further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Likewise, Crewe based Bentley Motors has also announced a “voluntary release program” of up to 1000 job roles as part of their pre-planned “Beyond100” program which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aston Martin Job Cuts

Due to lower than expected production volume it was revealed, “Aston Martin will shortly launch a consultation process on proposals to reduce employee numbers by up to 500, reflecting lower than originally planned production volumes and improved productivity across the business.”

With a change of guard occurring on August 1 in the form of Aston Martin’s new CEO, former Mercedes-AMG boss Tobias Moers, the 107 year old British manufacturer will undertake a “fundamental reset, which includes a planned reduction in front-engined sports car production to rebalance supply to demand” to turn the company around which has already experienced a pre-tax loss of £118.9m in the first quarter of 2020.

The £38m savings will consist of £10m in previous savings announced earlier this year, £10m in operational cost savings, a planned £8m reduction in manufacturing costs and a further £10m reduction in capital expenditure.

“Aston Martin continues to take decisive action in other areas to reduce cost and remove non-critical expenditure from the business at every level, including in areas such as contractor numbers, site footprint, marketing and travel.”

By all accounts, it appears Aston Martin will hold back on the production of models like the Vantage and DB11 and instead focus on the company’s first SUV, the DBBX which reportedly has a strong order book for the expected summer deliveries.

With the DBX SUV being produced at the new plant in St Athan, Wales, it is likely job losses will affect the Gaydon-based production plant first which is currently producing the Vantage and DB11 models and employs approx. 1600 staff.

“The measures announced today will right-size the organizational structure and bring the cost base into line with reduced sports car production levels, consistent with restoring profitability.”

Bentley Job Cuts

In the same week, British based Bentley Motors likewise announced plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs which have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently employing 4,2000 staff at their Crewe based operations, the job losses would account for almost a quarter of their workforce mirroring the job losses announced last month by McLaren.

Bentley noted they had already been planning a restructure as part of a strategic 100 year plan coined “Beyond100” that would see Bentley “move towards becoming the world’s benchmark luxury car business, a leader in sustainable luxury mobility, financially resilient and recession-proof.”

The Beyond100 plan was to be announced in March however had been put off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the recent statement released by Bentley regarding the job losses, the company states, “While Bentley’s direction and goals remain as defined in March, the significant effects on the short-term financial outlook for the company means that Bentley, with deepest regret, has today informed its 4,200 colleagues of a program to significantly reduce the size of the organisation through a voluntary release program.

The statement continued saying “Steps had already been taken to cut or delay unnecessary spend without impacting future product plans. Recruitment was stopped, contractors were released across all business areas, pay was frozen and up to 66 per cent of colleagues at peak were placed on furlough. One further clear conclusion was that an urgent reduction in the workforce was unfortunately required. As a result, the company has launched a voluntary release program aimed at achieving this in the most caring and socially responsible way.

Letters have been issued to all colleagues outlining the personal financial terms of the offer based on length of service, age and salary. To make career transitions easier, Bentley is also providing financial support towards career guidance for all colleagues that choose to pursue a new professional direction. In the interest of protecting Bentley through this immediate crisis, avoiding any further reductions in colleague numbers, and securing the company’s future, Bentley is looking for as many as 1,000 colleagues to accept these terms.”

“However, Bentley cannot rule out future compulsory redundancies.”

Adrian Hallmark, chairman and chief executive officer of Bentley Motors, also stressed, “Losing colleagues is not something we are treating lightly but this is a necessary step that we have to take to safeguard the jobs of the vast majority who will remain, and deliver a sustainable business model for the future through our Beyond100 strategy. The voluntary release program at least allows the colleagues to make the personal choice and leave us with the most appealing and supportive offer possible within the circumstances.”

“COVID-19 has not been the cause of this measure but a hastener.”

Owned by the Volkswagen Group, Bentley resumed production in early May following the COVID-19 induced closures and at the time had an 8 month order list to fill.