BMW announces 850 job losses at Mini car plant

[MCS08]

By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent, Telegraph
Last Updated: 11:20AM GMT 16 Feb 2009

The job losses will mean unemployment rates appear certain to top the two million mark within weeks.

In a fresh blow to the crisis-hit motor industry, BMW, announced that it was axing the weekend shift, which is mainly staffed by agency workers.

There was anger at the meeting where the news was announced, after employees, some of whom had worked at the plant for a number of years, were told that they were not entitled to redundancy pay.

The cuts will fall from March 2, when the plant will move to a five-day week.

They follow a collapse in sales across the motor retail market generally as a result of the credit crunch, with Mini seeing sales slump by 35 per cent in the last month despite a warm reception for the new model launched last year which led to an initial increase in sales.

Ministers came under renewed pressure to do more to help the car industry, which some have warned is now at risk of being wiped out forever in the UK.

Honda has closed its plant in Swindon for four months, Ford cut 850 jobs earlier this month, and workers at Vauxhall have accepted a cut in hours and wages. Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan and Bentley have all been forced to cut production or jobs since the start of the recession.

Last month, car sales fell by more than 30 per cent in the UK, and governments across Europe have taken action to protect their own motor manufacturing sectors.

In Britain, manufacturers have been given access to Government-backed financing, but are calling for more help to survive.

Tony Woodley, of the Unite union, warned that "tens of thousands" more jobs would go in the car industry if the Government did not step in with subsidies to provide financing and help tide manufacturers over until sales picked up.

He described BMW as "opportunistic" for sacking agency staff working on a relatively successful model, adding: "The manner in which these cuts were announced was disgraceful.

"It is tough enough for workers in those car companies who have seen their market collapse in recent months, but BMW makes a top-selling product in the Mini and owed it to their staff to treat them better.

"Sacking an entire shift like this, and targeting agency workers who have no rights to redundancy pay, is blatant opportunism on BMW's part and nothing short of scandalous.

"BMW's parent company couldn't attempt this in Germany because it would be illegal to do so.

"It is a disgrace, therefore, that workers in this country can be so casually thrown to the dole."

Last month's figures showed unemployment a shade off two million, with the CBI warning that jobless rates could reach as high as three million by the end of the year.

Ministers fear a renewed spate of wild cat strikes, which broke out at work places across the country this month in response to the employment of foreign workers at the Lindsay oil refinery in Lincolnshire.

BMW blamed the new shift pattern on the "continuing volatile market conditions," announcing that work at the plant will not resume until February 23, with the new programme, including the job cuts, introduced the following week.

Staff were told that they would be paid during the closure, but many were angry at the layoffs, with some workers throwing oranges and apples at managers as they delivered the bad news.

Javid Najibi, who told the BBC that he had worked at the plant for four years, said that he had been informed that he would get no payout.

He said: "It's bad news for everybody. There's no work any more for the weekend shift. No-one knows about the future plans."

Another agency worker said that he was being treated as a "second class" employee compared to permanent staff, adding: "It's a disgrace. I've worked here for three-and-a-half years and now I'm being sacked for no reason. I've been used."

Cowley has been building the Mini since 2001, and has the capacity to produce 260,000 a year

The 4,500 Mini workers had already been given an extended, four-week break over Christmas as the plant suspended production in the face of a lack of sales, while 300 agency staff were laid off in December.

[danjmcs]

Never good to hear people getting laid off... but hard to blame BMW/Mini for choosing to lay off those that were eseentially temporary staff for an additional shift, that just happened to run a much longer period of time than is typical due to good sales.

It would have been better to keep them and lay off actual employees? Yeah, I'm sure that would have gone over well too.

No real good way to handle these times without it hurting hard working people.

[MCS08]

Slowing MINI sales was news to me. I thought they were doing alright considering the economy. But I guess nobody can escape the frozen credit markets.

The article notes German labor laws. You almost wonder if BMW opted to layoff the MINI folks since they didn't have the same protection. Despite their status, sending these people off with nothing more than a pink slip still stinks.

[driverphil]

It's bad out there gang. And really no better here.