Ineos to axe 'several hundred' jobs as losses continue

Ineos Automotive has announced that it will axe "several hundred" jobs amid continued high losses. The cuts will affect a large percentage of its circa-1850 global staff, based at sites including its London HQ, its engineering center in Böblingen, Germany, and its factory in Hambach, France. The company didn’t give an exact figure, saying the process was still in the consultation phase. Staff members employed in building the Grenadier off-roader and Grenadier Quartermaster pick-up in the former Smart factory in France will be unaffected by the cuts, a spokesperson said. Around 1200 people work there, they added. The 4x4 specialist made a £290 million net loss last year, following a £323m loss in 2023, according to accounts filed in the UK in October. Ineos said the job cuts were part of a reorganisation to “focus on frontline operations and simplify its head office to improve efficiency and responsiveness”. The changes will shift the emphasis more onto sales in key markets, it said. As part of the changes, Ineos said it will open a new Americas HQ in New Jersey as it refocuses the Grenadier business on the US, its largest market, contributing around 60% of sales. Ineos doesn’t release global sales figures but said sales had risen 40% last year. UK sales to the end of October this year stood at 233, down 23%, according to SMMT figures. That number doesn’t include commercial variants, however. The company is searching for a US production location for the Grenadier, CEO Lynn Calder told the Financial Times in October. The move will allow it to avoid the new tariffs imposed by the US on EU-built vehicles this year, which pushed up duty on the passenger version of the Grenadier from 2.5% to 15%. As a light commercial truck, the Quartermaster is also subject to a 25% US tariff known as the chicken tax. Such a move would question the viability of Hambach, given that it's already likely operating well below its annual capacity of 33,000 vehicles on two shifts. Ineos Automotive, part of the chemicals-focused Ineos Group, said in the statement that the staffing reductions reflected its transition “from its engineering phase to a market-focused business”, indicating that no new models are imminent. The company has delayed its planned new electric and range-extender Fusilier SUVs to 2028 or 2029, as it waits to see whether the EU will include some hybrids in a potential revision of its 2035 ban on ICE car sales. It currently offers only petrol and diesel powertrains. “We’re too small to spend huge amounts on product development to then find that we can’t produce it, we can’t sell it, in key markets,” Calder told Autocar in March. Ineos has held discussions with Chinese manufacturer Chery to rebadge the new iCaur V27 REx off-roader as the Fusilier, potentially building it from kits at Hambach. The V27 is smaller than the Grenadier and a uses a REx powertrain comprising a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a 33kWh battery and either one or two electric motors. Ineos Automotive is struggling with debts of £3.25 billion owed to other Ineos Group entities, according to company filings for the 2024 financial year. Interest payments totalled £243m for the year while administrative expenses accounted for £315m, the filing revealed. Revenue jumped 58% in 2024 from the year before to £789m on the back of a 40% increase in sales, the company also said, without giving numbers. Ineos was forced to halt production at Hambach for more than three months from September 2024 after seat supplier Recaro Automotive filed for insolvency.

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Ineos to axe 'several hundred' jobs as losses continue

4x4 manufacturer, which has bases in France, Germany and the UK, made a £290 million net loss last year

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