Car workers back after shutdown (From thisisoxfordshire)

Car workers back after shutdown

6:00am Monday 5th January 2009

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Hundreds of BMW workers were due to return to the company’s Oxford car plant today as experts predicted a bleak future for UK car manufacturers.

The Cowley plant’s 4,500 production staff were ordered to down tools for nearly a month over Christmas, as the made-to-order Mini suffered the effects of “challenging economic times”, with people putting off buying new cars as a result of money worries.

Last month, the Oxford Mail revealed that UK sales of the Mini had fallen by 13 per cent for the year to date, while the total UK car market had slumped by 11 per cent in the same period.

At 6am today workers were due to return to the plant for the first time since December 8.

Some members of production staff said they felt apprehensive about the future after 290 agency workers were laid off by BMW on the same day as the shutdown began.

One agency worker, who asked not to be named, said: “Everybody is worried about their jobs. People reckon the recession is not going to pick up for a couple of years.

“It’s a matter of waiting to see what is going to happen.”

Another worker said weekend staff had complained to their union about unfair treatment, as they suffered an additional shutdown in November and faced another planned shutdown over the coming weekend, in addition to the extended Christmas break.

He said some colleagues would have to work the equivalent of four weeks’ hours on top of their basic shifts in order to “pay back” hours they had been paid for while the shutdown took place.

The Mini factory is not alone in feeling the effects of the economic slowdown.

The UK motor industry is expected to see output fall by almost 20 per cent this year, with production falling to the lowest level in more than 20 years, according to estimates by global finance company PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Japanese car maker Honda has announced that it will close the production lines at its Swindon plant for two months between February and March, while sports car firm Aston Martin, which is based in Gaydon, near Banbury, plans to shed 600 jobs.

Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover, which also has a plant in Gaydon, has introduced a four-day week and called for 600 voluntary redundancies among staff at its sites in the West Midlands and Merseyside.

Last night, Paul Everitt, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “The motor industry is facing unprecedented market conditions which are having a direct impact on UK jobs and manufacturing.

“Normally strong companies are facing a bleak future, purely as a result of the global banking crisis.”

Derek Simpson, joint leader of car workers’ union Unite, has called on the Government to provide an £8bn fund to safeguard jobs and communities which depend on car manufacturing.

A BMW spokesman said there were “no current plans with regard to staffing levels” and added “we try to make sure any stand-downs are spread evenly across all shifts”.

She added: “Obviously, we’re facing, as everyone is, challenging economic times. We’re not immune from that.

“But the fact remains Mini is a strong brand.”

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