[Voitramma]

BIG TROUBLE AT UK MINI FACTORY
BMW fires 850 workers with only hour's notice
February 19, 2009

THEY only knew it was their last day on the job an hour before they knocked off.

And when they were told they would be laid off, the 850 workers at the Mini car factory started throwing fruit at their union leaders, reported The Scotsman.

The angry workers at the huge plant in Cowley, near Oxford in the UK, then stormed out of the plant, saying they felt 'betrayed'.

The Telegraph said the cuts came after the company halted the production of cars at the Cowley factory for a week in response to falling sales caused by the recession.

The 3,650 remaining workers will switch from seven-day-a-week production to five days from 2 Mar following a 35 per cent slump in sales last month.

BMW, the German owner of the Mini, has come under fire for the way it handled the retrenchments.

Union chiefs accused it of using workers as 'cannon fodder', and called on the government to give immediate rights to agency workers.

Mr Derek Simpson, the joint general secretary of Unite, pressed Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to introduce a European directive on agency workers so those affected by the Cowley cuts would receive redundancy pay.

'Disgraceful'

Mr Tony Woodley, Unite's co-leader, said: 'The manner in which these cuts were announced today was disgraceful. Sacking an entire shift like this and targeting agency workers who have no rights to redundancy pay is blatant opportunism on BMW's part and nothing short of scandalous.

'This is no way to treat workers, and I personally shall be pushing BMW to revoke this decision and give people their jobs back.'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown also weighed in on the issue.

His spokesman said: 'This is very disappointing news and all I can say really is the government is doing and will do all that we can to help those affected.'

Workers were given the grim news towards the end of their shift yesterday, shortly before a pre-planned, week-long shutdown of the plant.

One of the workers, Mr Silvia Fernandes, said: 'I've never been sick, I've never missed work and they tell me one hour before (my shift ended) that I have been sacked. That's why people are angry and so upset with BMW and with the union.'

Mr John Cunningham, who has worked at the factory for more than two years, said: 'I feel betrayed. They've planned this for months and we've only just been told - one hour's notice.

Scared

'We've been given a week's pay for an enforced week off, which I suppose is a week's notice. I don't know what's going to happen to me and my family. It's very scary.'

BMW said staff who currently worked weekend shifts at Cowley would be redeployed to one of the weekday shifts.

A statement issued by the company said: 'While Mini has been weathering the economic downturn, it is not immune from the challenges of the current situation.

'Against this backdrop, the company felt that a review of its shift patterns was necessary. This decision has not been taken lightly. The plant's union representatives have, of course, been involved in the discussions.'

Cowley, which can produce up to 260,000 cars a year, started building the Mini in 2001 and the marque has been hugely successful, with 80 per cent of the factory's output sold for export.

The latest bad news for the UK car industry follows thousands of job cuts in recent weeks, including 1,200 at Nissan, 850 at Ford, 600 at Aston Martin and 450 at Jaguar Land Rover.