Noooo! If the business is not viable, why on earth should our taxes pay to keep the employees in pretend-work? It would be cheaper to close the place and just pay them all a pension! If it is viable, sell it to someone who can run it. Civil servants can't run anything, as we all know all too well.

Isn't it odd to see the union men still stuck in the 1970's?

Roger Pearse, Ipswich, Suffolk

Well I'd comment but ah Barry beat me to it.
Well done chap !!!!

Adam, Prior lk,

I love the way the Unions always turn to the government to bail them out when it has mostly been their fault that help was needed.
For 30 years Longbridge got a free ride from the government.
For at least ten years BL existed on government money although it must be admitted that the standard of management was quite appalling.
Jaguar and LandRover are the last glimmer of a once great British Industry killed by staggering stupidity and greed.

Minnie, LA, , USA

The unions are bleating yet again, they should have give
thought to the damage they have done to the car industry
through the fifties, sixties,seventies, and into the eighties
they systematically decimated the industry. Thats why
we are now looking at the last of the line, the only
cars manufactured in the country will be Japanese.
Well done the unions.

Barry Holmes, Christchurch, New Zealand

As a Land Rover pensioner I am concerned that a company that is of strategic value to the UK is to pass into the hands of people who will only want the company to asset strip it despite being it highly successful in producing both military and civilian vehicles.
If companies such as Land Rover are considered to be expendable by government what hope is there for any leading brand manufacturers remaining in the UK or indeed remaining in existance.
Like ship building, tank manufacture even Royal Ordnance, strategic industries are passed to foriegn control by mediocre politicians who have no experience of industry and very little common sense.

Mr R Johnson, Hartley Wintney, U.K.

Yet again the unions have done a superb job of hiding ligitmate concerns amongst a tirade of stupidity and nonsense relating to private equity. Many PE deals have substantially increased the number of people working in the organisations concerned. The only way to secure the long term viability of any company is to ensure it is profitable... Jaguar is not and major surgery may be required. If the unions continue to oppose change, in the long run there will be no Jaguar. Mr Woodley, please try and be rational.

Graeme, London, UK

The media are all jumping up and down regarding the 19,000 workers at Landrover and Jaguar but what about the 40,000 + workers in the support industries that make everything from nuts and bolts to leather seats that go into these cars.The network of labour that supports this industry is a much bigger picture than the actual workers at the plants.
Sectors that involve everything from transport,warehousing,
small , medium and large component manufacturers to local newsagents will all be affected. It would be unthinkable what would happen to the local imediate areas surrounding the plants and many surrounding areas of the West Midlands.
It has been mentioned that the land at Solihull is valuable for new housing.A high percentage of people who live in this nice area work at these plants and add to the local economy.If they had no jobs to go to, who would be buying all this new property?
I dearly hope in the future, I dont see a RangeRover with "Made in China" stamped on the underside!

Pete, Cannock, UK

back to the days of BLMC? The unions must be joking, or have memory loss - failing to remember what their shop stewards did to the English motor industry - eventually helped by the abdication of the leaders who were supposed to be the managers. A reputation for poor quality in build and unreliability of components has dogged Jaguar for generations. Having, like others - have been bitten and clawed here by past Jaguars, I would not want another and remain with German cars - in general long lived, and designed for maintenance (not much required) as well as for production - an old English failure dating back to some warplanes of WW2 if not earlier. Far better now, but can Jaguar live down its past? In earlier days there was complacency and lack of interest in modification for overseas and "colonial" markets.

Donald MacDONALD, Brisbane , Australia

What better statement of unonism could you imagine? No mention of the customers, terrified of competition and, still, of the belief that Whitehall bureaucrats can run a car factory better than businessmen. Pitiful.

mark , dubai, uae

Sounds like the Rover reprise; where unions and the Government supported the sale to the Phoenix Consortium and opposed the acqusition of MG by Alchemy.

MG Fan, London,