BMW has announced that 850 jobs are to go at the MINI plant in Oxford. Weekend working has also been scrapped in a bid to save money.
All agency workers who did the weekend shift were told that they no longer have a job, with immediate effect.
The global economic downturn has been blamed for a drop in sales and the manufacturer said that it had identified 150 surplus workers at its Swindon plant.
These workers will be offered a transfer to Oxford. At the Cowley plant work will not resume until February 23 and the altered shift patterns will come into place on March 2.
'Mini plant Oxford will be bringing in a new shift pattern in response to continuing volatile market conditions,’ BMW said in a statement. ‘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,’ it added.
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