Jaguar Land Rover to cut output at two UK factories

LONDON (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover will reduce or stop production on certain days at two of its British factories over the next few weeks as Britain's biggest carmaker pursues cost-cutting measures in response to falling demand.

JLR posted a 2.3% drop in retail sales in the three months to the end of December and has targeted billions of pounds worth of savings to tackle falling diesel demand in Europe and a tough sales environment in China.

The firm will halt production on selected days over a four-week period from late February at its Castle Bromwich factory in central England and stop production on some half or full days at its nearby Solihull facility until the end of March.

"The external environment remains challenging for our industry and the company is taking decisive actions to achieve the necessary operational efficiencies to safeguard long-term success," the company said in a statement.

"We have confirmed that Solihull and Castle Bromwich will make some minor changes to their production schedules to reflect fluctuating demand globally, whilst still meeting customer needs."

The move is not connected to coronavirus, a spokeswoman said, which prompted Fiat Chrysler to warn on Thursday that a European plant could shut down within two to four weeks if Chinese parts suppliers cannot get back to work.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas, Editing by Paul Sandle)