Aston Martin announces nearly 300 job cuts

Aston Martin plans to cut nearly 300 staff as it rebalances and restructures its business – in an effort streamline activities.

The Warwickshire-based luxury brand said last week that it was planning “meaningful” job cuts as it expands into the electric and “crossover” sport utility vehicle markets.

Chief executive Andy Palmer told The Financial Times: “They have to be meaningful because … we spend significantly more than we earn,”

“There’s a financial need to be scaled relevant to our turnover.”

The company hasn’t performed that well over the past few years. According to Reuters, Aston Martin’s former chief financial officer said that he did not expect the company to be profitable until after 2016.

However, Unite, the country’s largest union, is opposed to any compulsory redundancies.

Unite regional officer Tim Parker said: “Aston Martin has two priceless assets: its global brand name as a British world-class producer of iconic luxury sports cars and, just as importantly, their highly skilled world-class workforce that contribute massively to the design and production of these fabulous cars.

“We believe that both of these priceless assets are equally important in securing a successful future for this iconic British UK based world-class business.”

The union is currently in talks with the carmaker over the total number of job losses.

He said: “Unite is opposed to any compulsory redundancies and insist that any job losses should only take place by means of voluntary redundancies, early retirements and ending the use of external consultancy contract staff.”