PM hails UK automotives as global leader after Bentley drives 1,000 jobs
24 July 2013
Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed the UK automotive manufacturing sector as “sprinting ahead in the global race”, speaking as carmaker Bentley announced an £800m investment which will create 1,000 jobs.
Wed, 24 Jul 2013Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed the UK automotive manufacturing sector as “sprinting ahead in the global race”, speaking as carmaker Bentley announced an £800m investment which will create 1,000 jobs.
Bentley announced yesterday that it will take on 400 new staff at its facility in Crewe to design and build its new as yet unnamed SUV model, and expects 600 jobs to be created among its supply base.
There had been speculation that the new line would be made in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, where Bentley parent company Volkswagen already has substantial operations.
Dr Martin Winterkorn, VW group chair, says: “The Volkswagen Group believes in the UK as a competitive location for industrial production. Bentley fans all around the world are looking forward to the brand’s first SUV.”
A company spokesperson tells Recruiter that the 400 direct jobs range from production line roles to positions for qualified engineers, with jobs to be advertised on Bentley’s website shortly.
The spokesperson also notes that the predictions for supply chain job growth come from the company’s own estimates, based on scaling up from their current supply base. This job prediction is rather more conservative than the ratio of one job with a car maker creating 7.5 in the supply chain, as estimated by industry body SMMT.
Bentley employs around 4,000 people in Crewe, which is home to all its operations. It exported more than £1bn-worth of goods in 2012, and the first half of 2013 saw its deliveries to customers increase by 9%.
Cameron comments: “I am delighted that Bentley will be building their new vehicle here, not only creating 1,000 jobs, but safeguarding many more, as well as increasing training opportunities for highly skilled apprentices.”
“One sector that we know is sprinting ahead in the global race is our booming automotive industry,” he says, adding that the government’s recently launched Automotive Industrial Strategy will “help continue this success for years to come”.
Last month, the PM lent his support to a scheme designed to tackle the shortfall in engineering skills in the UK.
Bentley announced yesterday that it will take on 400 new staff at its facility in Crewe to design and build its new as yet unnamed SUV model, and expects 600 jobs to be created among its supply base.
There had been speculation that the new line would be made in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, where Bentley parent company Volkswagen already has substantial operations.
Dr Martin Winterkorn, VW group chair, says: “The Volkswagen Group believes in the UK as a competitive location for industrial production. Bentley fans all around the world are looking forward to the brand’s first SUV.”
A company spokesperson tells Recruiter that the 400 direct jobs range from production line roles to positions for qualified engineers, with jobs to be advertised on Bentley’s website shortly.
The spokesperson also notes that the predictions for supply chain job growth come from the company’s own estimates, based on scaling up from their current supply base. This job prediction is rather more conservative than the ratio of one job with a car maker creating 7.5 in the supply chain, as estimated by industry body SMMT.
Bentley employs around 4,000 people in Crewe, which is home to all its operations. It exported more than £1bn-worth of goods in 2012, and the first half of 2013 saw its deliveries to customers increase by 9%.
Cameron comments: “I am delighted that Bentley will be building their new vehicle here, not only creating 1,000 jobs, but safeguarding many more, as well as increasing training opportunities for highly skilled apprentices.”
“One sector that we know is sprinting ahead in the global race is our booming automotive industry,” he says, adding that the government’s recently launched Automotive Industrial Strategy will “help continue this success for years to come”.
Last month, the PM lent his support to a scheme designed to tackle the shortfall in engineering skills in the UK.
- Today also sees more good news for UK jobs in another engineering specialism. The Ministry of Defence has a awarded a £45m maintenance contract for the Armed Forces’ Bowman radio that will secure up to 300 British defence jobs – 150 at contractor General Dynamics UK and that number again across its supply chain.
