The Cowley plant will also close its doors for a full week, as it is scheduled to reopen its production February 23rd. The job cuts, as well as the resulting changed shift patterns will become effective March 2nd.
"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," said a BMW statement quoted by bbc.com.
"The company regrets that this change will result in the release of around 850 agency workers from the business," added the release. A Mini spokesperson initially said yesterday that reports about the 850 job to be cut at Cowley were made "speculatively". The spokesperson confirmed that the company is in talks with the unions about the changing shift patterns.
This is the second bad news for the workers at the Cowley plant in just two months. Before Christmas, 300 people were told they will not be working at the plant after the Christmas holiday. The news comes in the same note as the ones we got used to by now from the industry. Cuts, cuts, cuts... For BMW, this measure was taken in light of the latest sales figures. BMW Group January sales registered a 24.7 percent drop, while the Mini brand alone suffered a 34.5 plunge.
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