{"text":[[{"start":8.76,"text":"McLaren will create 1,000 jobs in the UK as part of a £450mn investment in its technology centre in Woking, in a boost to the country’s struggling automotive industry."}],[{"start":20.24,"text":"The investment comes as part of a product and strategy overhaul under the British supercar manufacturer’s chief executive Nick Collins following last year’s merger with premium UK electric vehicle start-up Forseven Holdings."}],[{"start":33.86,"text":"The jobs will include indirect and agency workers, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, with the investment going into its Woking centre for manufacturing and research and development. The group currently employs more than 2,500 people and produces all of its cars in the UK, from a neighbouring centre in Woking."}],[{"start":53.12,"text":"The investment by McLaren comes after Jaguar Land Rover on Monday confirmed plans to cut 4,000 jobs, or nearly 10 per cent of its global workforce, over the next two years to address falling sales."}],[{"start":65.92,"text":"The UK automotive industry has struggled in recent years due to pressure from US tariffs, Chinese competition and the government’s ambitious targets for EV sales."}],[{"start":75.84,"text":"CYVN Holdings, the Abu Dhabi government-owned investment company, last year acquired McLaren’s automotive business from Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, and had laid plans to invest $2bn over the next five years to revive the lossmaking group."}],[{"start":92.2,"text":"Collins previously told the FT that McLaren’s automotive division had been in “a perilous position” before the CYVN acquisition, haemorrhaging cash to such an extent that the development of its new models was jeopardised."}],[{"start":105.52,"text":"Under its new Abu Dhabi owner, the group has reshaped its board, adding auto industry grandees such as former Ferrari chair Luca di Montezemolo and Torsten Müller-Ötvös, the former boss of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars."}],[{"start":118.28,"text":"The revamp at McLaren comes after other UK manufacturers such as Aston Martin and Bentley streamlined their workforces over the past year in the wake of plummeting sales in China, the world’s largest car market."}],[{"start":118.78,"text":"McLaren declined to comment. The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment."}],[{"start":130.56,"text":"The UK government, under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, has ambitious plans to attract fresh investment for vehicle production in the UK, but the country has struggled to convince car manufacturers because of high energy prices as well as deteriorating trade conditions with the EU."}],[{"start":147.52,"text":"UK carmakers face a tariff of 10 per cent for EVs shipped to the EU from early next year, while UK-made vehicles do not qualify for “Made in Europe” subsidies under current proposals."}],[{"start":163.64,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788934866_5342.mp3"}