Crucial talks to avoid a further 1,100 job losses at Jaguar Land Rover are due to resume today – as the crisis-hit group prepared to unveil another slump in sales.

Figures for January were set to reveal a total of 12,000 sales globally for JLR, a substantial drop on the first month of 2008 for the Tata-owned group.

David Smith, chief executive of JLR, told the ICC automotive summit hosted earlier this week by the Birmingham Post: “In January, we sold around 12,000 units around the globe. We are doing the best we can but it is extremely difficult because we have never seen the volatility and swings of demand that we are seeing at the moment.”

The New Year sales gloom emerged as unions and management prepared to continue key talks over JLR’s demands for a further £70?million in cost savings or risk the loss of 1,100 more jobs.

Unions have already rejected a number of elements of the proposed cost-cutting drive ahead of a workforce ballot involving up to 12,000 JLR workers.

Attempts by JLR to scrap holiday bonuses and paid time off for reduced hours and cut sick pay, shift premiums and overtime payments have all been thrown out by union negotiators.

Up to 800 hourly-paid employees are at risk and around 300 salaried staff.

Unite union national car industry secretary Dave Osborne has declined to confirm which cost-cutting measures had been rejected but said: “It is true to say the company has tabled proposals, some of which we are prepared to continue to talk about.

“Others we have rejected out of hand and they will form no further part of our thinking. The meeting was adjourned and we will be meeting again.

“We are trying to save every one of these jobs. Once we have concluded these negotiations, the outcome will be put out for a ballot.”

Another union source said: “A number of proposals have been rejected in totality. The company wanted to discount things like holiday bonuses, which we have rejected outright. This is an annual £300 plus cash sum for holidays.

“They also wanted to eliminate banked hours at Land Rover and pay people a straight 37 hours of pay for a 37-hour week. They wanted to eliminate lay-off pay provisions, we rejected reductions in sick pay, they wanted to reduce all shift premiums and overtime.”

The source said proposed changes to the JLR pension regime, including reduced benefits and increased contributions, had also been thrown out.

Mr Osborne added: “The focus remains on whether we can get an agreement with the company – we are working hard to avert the need for further redundancies.”

Mr Smith told this week’s automotive summit at the ICC: “We are working very hard with our unions to avoid any further redundancies by finding alternative cost actions.

“I am grateful for the practical and co-operative approach [Unite general secretary] Tony Woodley and Dave Osborne and their colleagues are taking in these discussions.

“We all recognise that extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.”