British supercar maker McLaren has announced plans to create 1,000 jobs as part of a £450 million investment in its technology centre in Woking, just days after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) confirmed it is cutting 4,000 roles globally.
The supercar manufacturer and Formula One team, which last year merged with the premium UK electric vehicle startup Forseven Holdings, currently employs 2,500 staff. The new roles will include both indirect and agency workers, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the investment.
JLR confirms 4,000 job cuts
Jaguar Land Rover, which operates car plants in Castle Bromwich, Coventry and the North West, confirmed on Monday that it plans to reduce its global workforce by about 4,000 over two years. The cuts form part of an effort to save £1.7 billion as the company grapples with tough trading conditions, Donald Trump's tariff wars and the fallout from a cyber-attack.
Britain's largest carmaker, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, employs 44,000 people globally, including 34,000 in the UK. The redundancy announcement has been described as a "body blow for workers" by industry observers.
McLaren's investment welcomed by manufacturing sector
Lachlan Buirds, managing director of manufacturer Edale, welcomed McLaren's investment, saying: "McLaren's investment is a welcome reminder that UK manufacturing is a sector with a future.
"Recent redundancy announcements understandably attract attention, but they risk giving young people the impression that UK manufacturing is an industry in decline. In reality, modern manufacturing increasingly depends on engineering, automation, software and digital technology, creating a much broader range of career opportunities."
CYVN Holdings backs McLaren's growth plans
Last year, CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi government-owned investment company, acquired McLaren's automotive business from Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat. CYVN has said it plans to invest $2 billion (£1.4 billion) over the next five years in the loss-making group.
The investment in Woking is expected to support McLaren's expansion plans and its position in the high-performance automotive sector. The company's merger with Forseven Holdings, a premium EV startup, signals its intention to develop electric and hybrid technologies alongside its traditional supercar range.
The 1,000 new jobs at McLaren will partly offset the impact of JLR's planned redundancies, though the two announcements highlight contrasting fortunes within the UK automotive industry. While JLR faces significant cost pressures, McLaren is investing heavily in its future, backed by substantial sovereign wealth funding from the Middle East.
The job creation at McLaren is set to proceed over the coming months, with the company focusing on its Woking tech centre as a hub for engineering and innovation. The investment is expected to strengthen the UK's position in high-end automotive manufacturing, even as larger volume manufacturers face headwinds from global trade tensions and economic uncertainty.
