Jaguar Land Rover denies firing designer of Defender, Jaguar Type 00

Gerry McGovern is still Chief Creative Officer, says JLR

A couple of weeks ago, AutoCar UK reported that Gerry McGovern, Chief Creative Officer of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), was reportedly fired from the company. The executive was apparently escorted out of the building after his termination from JLR.

While McGovern was responsible for the design of popular vehicles for Land Rover, including the all-new Defender, he also had a hand in the controversial Jaguar rebrand and the design of the Type 00 concept. His sudden termination from JLR sent shock waves in the industry, given that McGovern played an instrumental role for the company for over two decades.

Fast forward to the present day, JLR has released a statement denying that Gerry McGovern is still with the company. According to a report by Motor1, a company representative reached out to the publication and stated that “it is untrue we have terminated Gerry McGovern's employment and we do not intend to further comment on speculative stories.”

While this means McGovern is still part of JLR, it's quite odd that it took some time before Jaguar Land Rover released a statement regarding the executive's employment with the company. With McGovern still part of the company, this means he's likely still overseeing design development of the Jaguar Type 00 and other JLR vehicles.

But with a new CEO at the helm, things could shake up at Jaguar Land Rover. Adrian Mardell retired as company CEO not too long ago and was replaced by PB Balaji, a former finance boss at Tata Motors. Balaji brings with him 32 years of experience and more than a decade of working at JLR's parent company, Tata Motors.

With JLR clearing the issue regarding McGovern's employment as the company's Chief Creative Officer, we'll be keeping a close eye on JLR, particularly with its design direction.