British luxury carmaker Aston Martin plans to cut up to 500 jobs, as it looks to bring its cost base into line with reduced car production levels.

The job cuts come a week after Aston Martin confirmed that Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, would become chief executive on August 1, 2020 replacing Andy Palmer.

The job losses reflectlower than originally planned production volumes and lack of improved productivity across the business. An employee and trade union consultation process will be launched in the coming days.

Last month it posted a significant first-quarter loss after sales dropped by almost a third due to the impact of coronavirus.

It said its first sports utility vehicle (SUV), the DBX, which is key to boost volumes and appeal to new buyers including more women, remains on track for deliveries in the summer and has a strong order book.

Aston Martin is also reducing costs and removing non-critical expenditure in other areas, including contractor numbers, site footprint, marketing and travel.

The restructuring is expected to deliver £38m ($47.6m, €42.2m) in total annual savings with restructuring costs expected to be around £12m.

Shares in Aston Martin, down 78 per cent over the last year, closed Wednesday at 68.9 pence, valuing the business at £1.05bn.

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