Jaguar denies firing design boss: ‘It’s not true’

Update, 12/12: After contacting Jaguar for a second time, the company issued a statement saying it has not fired design boss Gerry McGovern. A company spokesperson told Motor1: “It is not true that we have terminated Gerry McGovern’s employment and we do not intend to comment further on speculative stories.” The story has been updated to reflect that.

Jaguar’s recent rebranding has attracted heavy criticism. Fans opposed the automaker’s controversial ad campaign and had a lot to say about the Type 00 concept, mostly negative. Now the company is reportedly firing longtime design boss Gerry McGovern in response.

According to reports from Coach And Coach IndiaMcGovern was “escorted out of the office” early last week. We reached out to Jaguar for a statement and a company spokesperson said so Engine1 that “it is not true that we have terminated Gerry McGovern’s employment.”

This news comes less than a week after the retirement of former JLR CEO Adrian Mardell. The new CEO, PB Balaji, acted as former finance boss at Tata Motors before taking over after Mardell’s retirement. Balaji brings with him 32 years of experience, including more than a decade at JLR’s parent company, Tata Motors.

While details surrounding McGovern’s rumored departure from the company are still limited to what Jaguar and reports have said, it appears Balaji wants to shake things up at JLR. That move shouldn’t be surprising, given the negative feedback surrounding Jaguar’s rebrand.

McGovern has been working with the Jaguar and Land Rover brands for 21 years. McGovern is responsible for some of the most popular vehicles within the JLR portfolio, such as the Range Rover Evoque, the Range Rover Velar, the Land Rover Defender and the modern Range Rover line. McGovern also led the design team for the controversial Type 00 concept.

McGovern started his career at the Austin Rover Group and was responsible for concept cars such as the MG EX-E, as well as popular production cars such as the MG F sports car and the Land Rover Freelander. McGovern then worked at Ford to revive the Lincoln-Mercury brands.

We will update this story with more information as we get it.