UNITE vowed to leave no stone unturned while 4,000 Jaguar Land Rover jobs hang in the balance as the government ruled out a bailout ahead of a crunch meeting with bosses on Monday.

Britain’s largest car manufacturer is expected to formally announce a major redundancy programme over two years on Sunday after the Times reported on plans to axe 4,000 jobs.

Business Secretary Johnny Reynolds said on Sunday that there would be no bailout for the firm as it confirmed a voluntary redundancy programme.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Death by a thousand cuts has been going on under the nose of successive governments.

“Years of underinvestment, unsustainable zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) mandates and high industrial energy costs are crippling the industry. There must be further action.

“There have been intensive government discussions over the weekend to look at how to mitigate these jobs losses at JLR.”

Unite national officer Des Quinn added: “Unite the Union has long called for a just transition. This is an incredibly worrying and stressful time for JLR workers.

“Unite is working round the clock to deliver the best possible outcome.”

The prospect of devastating job losses comes as JLR continues its recovery from a major cyberattack that forced it to halt production last year.

The company employs about 30,000 people across Britain and makes most of its cars in factories in the country, including at Solihull, West Midlands, and Halewood, Merseyside.

Mr Reynolds and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker will meet JLR chief executive PB Balaji on Monday, the Morning Star understands.

The Business Secretary told Laura Kuenssberg’s show on the BBC: “A company the size of JLR, which is a huge British success story, at various times in its business cycle, the number of, directly, people it employs will change.

“If this is about making sure over time that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible, that’s the conversation we need to have.

“Of course you want to mitigate any job losses.”

Asked if there could be financial support to protect those jobs, he added: “Not if it’s to bail people out.

“If it’s about long-term investment in the future, we do invest alongside industry on that.”

A JLR spokesperson said: “Over the past three years, we have strengthened our House of Brands and transformed our product portfolio for the next generation.

“As we deliver the next phase of our strategy, we need to adapt to evolving global market conditions while targeting approximately £1.7 billion of savings over the next two years and reduce break-evens to 300,000 vehicles. To achieve this, we must further simplify our organisation, improve efficiency and build greater resilience.”

The company confirmed it had informed colleagues and trade union partners of the voluntary redundancy programme, adding it would “share further information with our colleagues first.”

A government spokesperson said: “We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.

“We have taken significant action to back the UK automotive industry by lowering electricity bills for manufacturers, providing £4 billion of capital and R&D funding to manufacture ZEVs and launching a £2 billion electric car grant to encourage people to buy EVs [electric vehicles].”

JLR revealed last month that revenues fell by 9.6 per cent year on year to £6bn for the three months to June 30, driven by a 9.2 per cent decline in car volumes.

Profit margins were knocked by a one-off provision linked to US fuel economy rules, which partially offset reduced US-British tariffs.

Your Party MP Zarah Sultana said: “JLR’s announcement of further job cuts is a devastating blow to workers in Coventry and across the West Midlands.

“These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. They are people’s jobs, incomes, livelihoods and entire communities depend on the strength of our manufacturing sector.

“Unite is right to demand answers and to fight to protect these jobs.

“Workers should not be expected to pay the price for decisions made by corporate bosses and governments that have failed to deliver a proper industrial strategy.

“The government must act now: back British manufacturing, protect skilled jobs and stand with Unite and JLR workers. We cannot allow the industrial heart of the West Midlands to be hollowed out — power to the workers!”