Jobs boost as Tata announces £4bn investment in UK gigafactory

Widely reported as being destined for Somerset, the gigafactory will create up to 4,000 jobs, plus thousands more in the supply chain for battery materials and critical raw minerals.

Described by SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes as ‘a shot in the arm for the UK automotive industry’, the new facility will produce batteries for Tata subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, plus other manufacturers in the UK and Europe.

In a statement, Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said: “I am delighted to announce the Tata Group will be setting up one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK. Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, JLR.”

Manufacture at the new gigafactory is due to start in 2026, producing 40GWh of cells annually. Tata said it aims to run the plant on 100 per cent renewable energy and will deliver a circular economy ecosystem by employing ‘resource efficient processes like battery recycling to recover and reuse all the original raw materials.’