100 jobs to go at Mini in Swindon (From Swindon Advertiser)

100 jobs to go at Mini in Swindon

9:50pm Monday 8th February 2010 in

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One hundred jobs are to go at the BMW Mini plant in Swindon but there will be no compulsory redundancies.

The management at the Swindon plant said they needed to rebalance the number of employees there and as there are vacancies at Oxford those jobs are being offered to Swindon staff.

“It has been clear for some time that there is a need to rebalance numbers of associates at Plant Swindon,” said Angela Stangroom, corporate and plant communications manager for BMW.

“There are currently 40 associates who are surplus to capacity at Plant Swindon and it is projected that this number will increase to approximately 100 associates by the end of this year.

“But we have been working closely with the plant’s union representatives to look at a number of voluntary options to ensure that production at Plant Swindon remains sustainable.”

The Swindon employees are being offered either a one-off payment, or relocation assistance to make a permanent move to the Oxford factory while some may decide to leave the business voluntarily, in which case packages will be available. The management stress that no employees will be forced out of their jobs.

“Should employees wish to leave the company on a voluntary basis then packages will be available,” said Ms Stangroom.

“Alternatively if they wish to transfer to Oxford there will be one off payments available or if a employee wishes to move home to Oxford then there is a package available for that as well.

“The transfer of Swindon associates to Plant Oxford will not have a significant impact on the Oxford workforce due to normal fluctuations in labour that we have there.” Unite, the union which represents some of the employees, has been involved with the talks with the management to get the best deal for their members.

“We appreciate the union’s constructive and positive contribution to these discussions and their input into finding jointly acceptable solutions to this issue,” said Ms Stangroom.

The workers in Swindon produce door panels for the Mini which is one of the world’s most popular cars. There are a variety of models and during the recession BMW have been better placed compared to other manufacturers because of a great demand for the car.

Talks of moving all production to Oxford and closing Swindon often surface but they have always turned out to be rumours.The workforce now of 950 in Swindon will be reduced to around 850 by the end of the year.