‘Sacked’ Jaguar Land Rover design boss is back

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed Gerry McGovern, who spent more than 20 years at the automaker before reportedly being unceremoniously dismissed last December, is back with the company.

Website Car Design News has reported an internal JLR employee email sent last week confirmed Mr McGovern was still working at the company.

Further details, however – including whether he remains in his previous role as chief creative officer – remain unclear.

Mr McGovern was reportedly fired by JLR in December 2025 after 21 years with the company, where he led several generations of design for Range Rover, Land Rover and Jaguar.

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This included the controversial Type 00 concept, which the company revealed will spearhead the Jaguar brand’s rebirth as a more exclusive and expensive electric-only brand.

In December, JLR denied Mr McGovern had been removed from his role, after reports from Autocar India said he had been “escorted out of the office”.

“It is untrue that we have terminated Gerry McGovern’s employment and we do not intend to further comment on speculative stories,” a JLR spokesperson told Automotive News Europe in an email.

Yet while confirming he was not fired, the automaker couldn’t confirm the designer’s role either – a situation which, according to Car Design News, appears ongoing.

Mr McGovern remains listed in the leadership section of the JLR website in his role as chief creative officer, with the designer not removed despite other relatively recent appointments and updates to the page.

This includes PB Balaji, who replaced Adrian Mardell as CEO from November 2025, and was reportedly a factor in the supposed dismissal of Mr McGovern.

Mr McGovern is yet to comment publicly on his position, with no new social media posts addressing the matter.

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