About 150 posts will go at its plant at Halewood, Merseyside, and a further 250 from factories in Birmingham and Coventry.

The firm has said it hopes all the losses will be achieved with voluntary redundancy and early retirement.

Jaguar spokesman Colin Cook said the cuts were being made to improve the firm's "skill mix" and had nothing to do with sales figures.

Sales 'up'

He said: "It is an entirely voluntary programme.

"The terms we are offering are extremely competitive and I don't think we will have any problems getting volunteers.

"This is more about getting the right skill mix. Global sales are actually up by 57% from last year and in the US, they are up by 63%."

Last month the firm announced its Halewood plant was to periodically operate a four-day week.

It also planned to stop production of the Baby Jag for a week in October as a "prudent measure".

Some of the departing staff at Halewood will be production workers, but cuts in the Midlands are not expected to affect the factory floor.