Ford's Jaguar cuts 1,150 jobs

Hard-pressed luxury brand Jaguar said it will cut about 1,150 jobs at its main plant in Coventry in a bid to return to profits, in another blow to Britain's fading glory as a car-making centre.

The Ford Motor Co. brand known for its leaping big cat mascot will drastically scale back the Brown's Lane plant in central England and shift production of its XJ sedan and XK sports car to its Castle Bromwich factory.

Jaguar is also bowing out of Formula 1 racing at the end of the season, dropping an expensive and unrewarding hobby.

"Our business as it currently stands is unsustainable and our losses unsupportable," said Joe Greenwell, chairman and chief executive of Jaguar and sister company Land Rover. He estimated the cuts would save $120 million a year.

Ford, which bought Jaguar in late 1989 for £1.6 billion ($2.87 billion), raised its third-quarter and 2004 profit forecasts, citing financial services strength and a tighter grip on the costs of making cars.