BMW announces job losses
Motor trades
17th February 2009
In a further blow to the UK's ailing motor trade, BMW has announced it intends to axe 850 jobs at its Mini car plant in Oxfordshire.
Tony Woodley, co-leader of the Unite trade union, warned that thousands more jobs could go in the industry unless the government pledges to provide it with financial assistance.
"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," he commented.
The job losses will take effect next month when production at the Cowley plant will move to a five-day week, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Last month, sales of new cars fell by almost one-third (30 per cent) in the UK.
In some brighter news for the motor industry, a survey conducted by Auto Trader found that as many as three in five motorists have said they are planning to buy a new or used car this year.
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