More job losses for Jaguar as it plans to cease production of its X-Type car by the end of 2009.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced 300 jobs are to go at its Halewood production plant in Liverpool, as the luxury car manufacturer stops production of its X-Type.

David Smith, Chief Executive, explained the reasons behind the job cuts: “Our industry has been badly hit by the recession and the premium sector more than others. Ceasing production of the X-Type early, with further redundancies and temporary shutdowns at Halewood is necessary to protect our other investment plans.”

In his statement, Mr Smith said that the car manufacturer had suffered a 28% drop in sales in the past 10 months, and its parent company, Tata Motors, revealed losses of £281 million for the 10 months to March 2009. Jaguar had already announced plans to cut 450 jobs back in January.

Len McCluskey, Assistant General Secretary of Unite, said: “It is critical that we get a new product into that plant as a replacement in the immediate future. A new product is pivotal to the long-term future of the Halewood plant.

“But these losses also underline the continuing uncertainty around the UK car industry at present. It is now a matter of urgency that Jaguar Land Rover’s application to the government’s Automotive Assistance Programme is processed without further delay.”

According to the statement from Unite, the UK’s largest union had brokered a deal with Jaguar at the beginning of the year to ensure there would be no compulsory redundancies, and the company appears to have stood by this agreement as it has said it hoped to make the job cuts through voluntary redundancies.