Jaguar plant to close for a week

About 2,500 people are employed at the plant

The Jaguar Land Rover plant in Merseyside is to close for a week due to falling demand for luxury cars.

The company confirmed there would be no production at its Halewood plant, which employs about 2,500 people, from 27 to 31 October.

The company said it would use the time to "evaluate production in line with the market downturn".

Falling demand for vehicles has already led to a several non-production days at Halewood, Castle Bromwich and Solihull.

A Jaguar Land Rover spokesman said: "This is half-term holiday week and, traditionally, this has always been a week when production ceased at Castle Bromwich and Solihull, although not at Halewood.

"The halt in production is to try to match production to demand."

Rumours within the plant that Tata, the Indian owners, could shed jobs by axing a shift next year were dismissed as "speculation."

The former Ford plant builds the X-type Baby Jag and the Land Rover Freelander.