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Mini to scrap 850 jobs

By Matt Brogan |

BMW has announced it will scrap 850 jobs at its Mini plant in Oxford, England.

The brand, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in August, has made the decision following falling sales in the wake of the global economic downturn.

Initially weekend shift workers will go when the cuts begin on March 2. BMW will then operate the plant five days a week instead of the current seven.

The Mini factory, which employs about 4,500 workers, produced 235,000 cars last year though sales have recently fallen some 34.5 percent (January month-on-month figures).

BMW said the sales drop was in part due to the lack of availability of the Mini Convertible, which accounts for 16 percent of Mini sales. Production of the Mini Convertible ended in mid 2008 and a new model will launch in March.


 
  • Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

    Thats a big turn around for BMWs baby…….they have been seeing huge growth up till now,lets hope the next 5 months see the same growth they had last year and they can re-instate those workers.
    Funny thing is they predicted this would happen back in July last year.

  • Alex

    Well it’s hardly surprising. Everybody has to do this right now. If ever there was a time to wish you had finished high school, gone to university and gotten a good job, it is now…

  • B-Man

    That’s a joke right Alex?
    While a lot of my friends that went to uni after finishing high school are out of work or have recently been made redundant, myself and other friends that got a trade have more work than ever. One of my best mates dropped out of school at 16 and now owns 5 properties. Uni doesn’t always equal success and stability.

  • Alex

    B-Man, it is not a joke. I’m sorry for your friends that have lost their jobs but the fact is that if you work in the car industry right now, you’re probably not going to lose a job at Mini and get a new one two weeks later at Jaguar. At least if you have been to university you have a higher chance of getting a new job somewhere else simply because you have a higher qualification. Even if it’s completely different to what you had before.
    I’m not saying that you’re safe just because you’ve been to University but you have to admit, you are safer.

  • Alex

    The other thing is that you may be well educated and lose your job but if you had a good job that came from a good education, you probably have savings. Well basically, you’re stupid if you don’t.
    People who build Minis for a living probably don’t have the luxury of saving plenty for a bad time.

  • Captain Mainwaring

    Yuppy-mobiles are probably going to crash harder than more prosaic vehicles. That’s what happens when the cream gets skimmed off the top.

  • Cupid Stunt

    Read the UK news website. Those workers given the chop were “Agency Workers” who have no employment rights and were given 1hrs notice and a weeks wages, then told theres no job next week. Bloody awful how we treat peeps nowadays. Good old One eyed Brown, let his one useful eye off the ball.

  • Andrew M

    Alex,
    where is your respect for a balanced society???

    if every one went to uni, who would come and collect your trash every week???
    you would also be surprised as to how much some “brain dead” positions can pay.

    and just for the record, that stats came in ages ago that tradespeople earn more than doctors, your theory isnt totally correct

  • Cupid Stunt

    Too right Andrew – The no defuct Tony Blaire wante to increase the number of students getting degrees from 28% to 40%. How short sighted is that, it only skews the natural balance of employment across the ranges of skills. Next we’ll have to have parking attendants with degrees in order to stick tickets on our screens.

  • billy hunt

    alex,i can’t believe the comments that you have made about people who have been to uni are better than the rest. If you ever come down from your ivory tower you will realize that it is the uni educated people, the so called educated one that in their greed made the mess that the world is in now.
    The person who actual works for a living and makes in some cases better money that the uni grads didn’t want the flashy cars and the fancy mobiles they just wanted to do an honest days work for an honest days pay, and make a better life for their family’s and that doesn’t mean having to go to uni to be educated. In our family we have the 3 extremes a uni graduate a tradie and some one who struggles to make ends meet. The uni grad is now wanting to become a chief because there is no work for graduates, the one who struggles is richer in more ways, as he has two fantastic sons who are worth more than any money you can lay your hands on, and the tradie who earns a huge and when I say huge I mean huge pay packet each week. The uni graduate wishes he had gone down the same route as the tradie who is in the better spot the one in debit or the one who’s not, the one with two great kids or the two who don’t have any. Its what you make of your life not your education that counts.

  • James

    I hate to break to you guys but this was about people lossing jobs in the BMW Mini plant not uni drop outs :)