Aston Martin has said it plans to cut up to 500 jobs as part of a major restructuring at the luxury car manufacturer.

The troubled company said it will shortly launch consultations on the job losses, which have been driven by lower-than-planned production volumes and improved productivity.

Aston Martin said the restructuring is expected to cost around £12 million.

However, it added that the strategy is intended to deliver £10 million in operating cost savings each year.

It said it will also save around £8 million from reduced manufacturing costs amid lower demand, while it will also reduce capital spending by around £10 million.

The UK manufacturer, famous for making James Bond’s car of choice, will “right-size the organisational structure” amid lower demand for sports cars, in a bid to improve profitability.

Aston Martin also told investors on Thursday that its first SUV car, the DBX, is on track for deliveries this summer and has a “strong order book”.

Unite regional officer Tim Parker said: “This is a really cruel blow to the workers and their families, as well as a massive hit to the West Midlands economy and the supply chain.

“We can ill-afford to lose such highly skilled, world-class manufacturing workers.

“We urge the company to reconsider the scale and number of the redundancies during the 45-day consultation period as the UK economy will need their highly-prized skills once the pandemic recedes.”

It comes after a testing year for the manufacturer, as it was blighted with numerous profit warnings.

Last week, the company’s chief executive, Dr Andy Palmer, announced he was leaving the manufacturer after a collapse in its share price.

Dr Palmer, who has led Aston Martin since 2014, is to be replaced as chief executive by Tobias Moers, who currently runs Mercedes-AMG, which is the German manufacturer’s high-performance division.

The number of vehicles sold by Aston Martin almost halved in the first three months of the year, as it was hit by the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.

This caused loss before tax to soar to £118.9 million, up from £17.3 million the year before.

Shares in the company moved 2.3% lower to 67.3p after early trading.