150 jobs at risk as Black Country Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships to close
Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships are to close in Stourbridge with the loss of around 150 jobs.
Stratstone Jaguar and Stratstone Land Rover in Lye will shut next month, the car retail giant has confirmed.
The blow comes as Pendragon, which owns Stratstone as well as Evans Halshaw, warned it expects to make an annual loss amid "internal operational challenges" in the latest sign of the troubles facing the motor industry.
It is understood all staff from the two showrooms on Stourbridge Road and Grange Lane will be made redundant.
A spokesperson from Stratstone said: “We can confirm that we have taken the decision to close our Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships in Stourbridge from July 2019.
"We are unable to comment further at this moment in time.”
'Disappointing'
Stourbridge councillor Alan Hopwood said he was "sad and shocked" by the closure.
He said: "I am disappointed with the closure.
"It doesn't help anything in the community, especially with the loss of jobs.
"It is always disappointing when people lose work and I would like to think these people can get back into work somewhere.
"It is really sad and I am shocked by it."
Announcing its latest figures, Pendragon said it is set to be "significantly" loss-making in its first half, before returning to profit in the final six months.
There are Evans Halshaw dealerships in Shrewsbury, Stourbridge, Walsall, Worfield and Wolverhampton and Stratstone sites in Stourbridge and Wolverhampton.
The company blamed a challenging car market, but also revealed widening losses in its Car Store vehicle supermarket arm, high levels of used car stocks left to shift and the impact of price cuts to boost new motor sales.
