BMW announces job cuts at Mini plant

Workers at the Cowley Plant in Oxford, England, which makes the Mini, are angry as BMW has confirmed that 850 jobs are being cut at the plant and that weekend working has been cancelled.┬á  "Mini plant Oxford will be bringing in a new shift pattern in response to continuing volatile market conditions," a BMW statement said. "As of Monday 2 March, the plant will go from a three-shift to a two-shift pattern, operating five days per week instead of the current seven. The company regrets that this change will result in the release of around 850 agency workers from the business." ┬á BMW, like most carmakers across the world, has been struggling in the face of falling sales during the economic downturn, and is the latest in a long line of car manufacturers in the UK to announce plant closures. ┬á BMW had said that all staff at the factory, including remaining agency workers, would be paid their basic wages during the closure however, many agency workers said they were unclear what the future held after being told the weekend shift had been axed. ┬á All agency workers who did the weekend shift at the factory have lost their jobs, with immediate effect, prompting an angry announcement from unions and even more frustration about the way in which they were told about their job losses.┬á Bernard Moss, from the union Unite said, "[The workers] obviously weren't very happy and the biggest issue was being told one hour from the end of the shift that they hadn't got a job." ┬á Javid Najibi said he had been told to leave after four years at the plant and that he was likely to not get a payout. ┬á "It's bad news for everybody. There's no work any more for the weekend shift. No-one knows about the future plans," he said. ┬á Another agency worker told the BBC that he felt like a "second class" employee compared to the permanent staff. ┬á "It's a disgrace," he said. "I've worked here for three-and-a-half years and now I'm being sacked for no reason. I've been used." ┬á Worker Silvia Fernandes said, "I've been here for four years and I've never been sick, I've never missed work and they tell me one hour before that I've been sacked. That's not on. That's why people are angry and so upset with BMW and the union." ┬á A Mini spokesperson had confirmed at the weekend that the company was in discussions with Unite union representatives over changes to shift patterns at the plant. ┬á "Our first priority is to communicate with the workforce," the spokesperson had said.