Shortage of parts halts Jaguar, Jensen

By CLIFFORD WEBB,
Midland Industrial Correspondent

All car production was brought to a standstill at Jaguar, Coventry, and Jensen, West Bromwich, last night by an unofficial strike at Adwest Engineering, Reading. Nearly 1,800 car workers have been laid off. Adwest is the sole supplier of power steering mechanisms to the two car firms. Four hundred Adwest workers are on strike for an extra 2s. 6d. an hour.

The shortage hit Jaguar three days ago. About 500 men on the XJ6 assembly line were laid off. and production of the firm's best selling models stopped. Yesterday the E-type sports car and 420 G lines also ran out of steering parts and a further 1.000 were laid off. A Jaguar spokesman said last night that unless supplies were restored almost immediately more men would be'laid off pro- gressively during the next few days.

He described the stoppage as "a tragedy" in view of the firm's record order book. Delivery time for the XJ6 is now about nine months on the home market and a year overseas. A cutback in production schedules - for the Triumph Herald at Standard-Triumph's Coventry plant is affecting another member of the British Leyland group.

Forward Radiators Birmingham. Two hundred men employed on the assembly of body pressings for the Herald have been told that they will be going on to short time working. The cut back is understood to be due to the phasing in of new models.