An Aston Martin V8 Vantage is parked outside the company headquarters in Gaydon, UK. Aston Martin plans to develop new models and increase output despite the job cuts.
Bloomberg/London
Aston Martin said it will eliminate as many as 295 jobs from its workforce of 2,100 people as the luxury automaker seeks to cut costs and “rebalance” the business.
Offers of early retirement and voluntary redundancies will be made to limit the impact on staff, while full-year production rates and sales projections are unchanged, Aston Martin said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The company still plans to develop new models and increase output.
The Unite trade union had said on Wednesday that as many as 314 jobs could go and that it would oppose mandatory firings. The cuts will mainly affect administrative, professional and managerial staff at Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, England, the labour group said.
“Collective consultation with employee representatives, including Unite, has begun and the company is working with them to minimise the risk of compulsory redundancies,” the carmaker said.
Aston Martin, which sells about 4,000 vehicles a year, is one of the few global luxury-car brands not part of a larger automotive group.
Its reliance on sports cars limits its growth potential in markets like China, where wealthy drivers prefer sedans and sport utility vehicles.
To broaden its appeal, the company is developing the DBX, a high-riding crossover, and raised £200mn ($309mn) earlier this year to support the effort.