Ukraine conflict: Jaguar Land Rover helps employees' families to flee

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is helping employees' families to flee Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

The car manufacturer has a European manufacturing facility based in Slovakia, close to the border.

In a memo seen by BBC Radio CWR, it says about 650 employees have family in Ukraine and have been contacted about support with evacuations.

JLR, which has its HQ in Coventry, said its "first priority" was the wellbeing of its workforce and their families.

Filippo Grandi, the UN refugee chief, has estimated about 100,000 people have already moved out of their homes in Ukraine seeking safety.

Poland has reported more than 50,000 arrivals in two days, while thousands more headed into Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

The JLR memo adds the first families were successfully moved to Slovakia at the weekend and the company is working with Slovakian authorities to offer help such as employment, childcare, psychological support and financial donations.

It comes after JLR, owned by Indian company Tata Motors, said it had paused delivery of its cars to Russia due to "trading challenges".

The car maker, which has UK plants in the Castle Bromwich and Solihull areas of the West Midlands, sold 6,900 vehicles to Russia last year.

In its statement, it added: "The current global context also presents us with trading challenges, so we are pausing the delivery of vehicles into the Russian market and continually monitoring the situation on behalf of our global customer base."

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