BMW has announced that it will make 400 staff redundant at the MINI plant in Oxford, the result of falling demand for its cars in the wake of the Cornavirus pandemic.
All 400 of the jobs will be taken from staff employed through an agency called Gi Group, which has around 950 workers at the plant of a total of approximately 4000, the rest employed directly by MINI, who has said that it too is looking to let go of some staff but that it will only be a “small number” and comprise mainly voluntary redundancies and those who wish to take early retirement.
The factory, which last year produced 223,340 cars, has traditionally worked on a three-shift pattern to keep on top of consistent demand, but the sudden drop has forced MINI to adopt a two-shift pattern set to begin in October. It will go from producing around 1000 cars a week to 800.
The affected staff will be informed of their fate mid-September, according to Gi Group, and will be selected based on a set of criteria including skill set, length of service and disciplinary records.
MINI HR director Bob Shankly said: “Like other automotive manufacturers, our volume forecasts for 2020 have had to change accordingly. We have, therefore, made the difficult decision to adjust our shift patterns at Mini Plant Oxford from October. This will give us the flexibility we need to adapt our production in the short to medium term, according to developments in global markets.
“Our decision has been made after close discussion with trade union representatives and we are aware that our plans will have an impact on people during an uncertain and worrying time. We have sought to protect as many jobs as we can, while also taking the necessary steps to ensure the stability of our business in light of this current period of volatile and unpredictable market conditions.”
The news comes as SMMT car production figures show that July production dropped by 20.8% year-on-year, with 85,696 cars produced. A significant drop of course, but also a number that shows an industry bouncing back. In June only 56,594 cars were produced, a 48.2% year-on-year decline.
Keyword: MINI announces hundreds of job losses in Oxford