McLaren To Axe 1,200 Jobs, More Than A Quarter Of Its Workforce

Small or big, mainstream or premium, just about every automaker has been affected by the coronavirus. Some manufacturers have been hit harder than others, and it would seem McLaren falls into the former category. Earlier this month, the BBC reported about how the Woking-based marque is considering mortgaging its factory and historic collection in order to access a loan of around $365 million and weather the storm caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

The same source now claims McLaren's financial shape is actually worse as the disruption generated by the coronavirus has greatly impacted sales and advertising revenue. Of the approximately 4,000 people the company employs, more than 1,200 are expected to lose their jobs, according to the BBC. Most of the job cuts are expected to take place in the UK.

McLaren's Formula 1 division is also going to be impacted by the job cuts, with approximately 70 people from the 800-strong workforce to lose their jobs. BBC is reporting additional job cuts are programmed for the company's F1 arm sometime in 2021 as part of a plan to cut back on motorsport expenses per an upcoming agreement made by all F1 teams.

McLaren chairman Paul Walsh has issued a statement, saying the company has "no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce. This is undoubtedly a challenging time for our company, and particularly our people, but we plan to emerge as an efficient, sustainable business with a clear course for returning to growth."

Earlier this month, McLaren CEO told Automotive News Europe the coronavirus outbreak will also negatively impact the company's Track25 business plan. While two models are still on track for a 2020 release, the ones scheduled for 2021 and beyond could be delayed:

"One of things that's most intellectually challenging is working out the business plan, working out the plan for [20]21 and beyond and trying to forecast how the markets are going to be, what the appetites of customers is going to be."