Tata hires KPMG to help cut costs at Jaguar as its earnings in India surge
JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S (JLR) owner, Tata Motors, has hired KPMG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to advise it on cost-cutting at the struggling car firm.
The carmaker will be given advice on how to break even and on how to manage its cashflow more effectively.
“We are going ahead with their proposals and this is going to improve the cost reduction efforts in JLR,” Tata’s vice chairman Ravi Kant said.
JLR has not had to shut its factories for long periods like other carmakers such as Honda, but its staff have agreed to work four-day weeks and 2,000 temporary workers have been laid off.
The European Investment Bank has offered a £340m loan to the carmaker, but JLR cannot accept it until the UK government agrees to underwrite it.
The news comes as Tata announced a 58 per cent increase in net profits, with lower steel prices helping the blow dealt by falling vehicle sales.
Its net profit for the three months to June – excluding performance at JLR – was 5.14bn rupees (£65m), compared to 3.26bn rupees in the same period last year.
“The company’s continued focus on cost efficiencies, coupled with reduction of raw material prices and improvement in sales, yielded considerable benefits,” the company said.
Tata sold 127,340 vehicles in the period, down from the 133,079 it sold last year.