Economic Slowdown hits MINI Production!

[Rakey]

BBC NEWS | England | Oxfordshire | Mini factory to cut agency jobs

Surprised no-one has passed comment on this news

[Streeters]

Interesting reading. Mind you most businesses will lose the temps before the full timers
Its a tough market atm

[Rocco9999]

Quote: Originally Posted by Streeters (original)

Interesting reading. Mind you most businesses will lose the temps before the full timers
Its a tough market atm

I agree.
While its not nice for those who have to go, i'd me more concerned with a company which doesn't lay people off when the market changes like this. Its simple economics and if you are a contractor you get paid better to make up for the fact you may not work for all 12 months of the year.

[dalboyne]

It's especially sad that this is happening all over the place right before Xmas. :eek

[Rocco9999]

Quote: Originally Posted by dalboyne (original)

It's especially sad that this is happening all over the place right before Xmas. :eek

Pretty sure the salaried staff still get paid for the shutdowns.

Have you ever tried taking money off a UK Auto worker?

Last time someone tried that in the 70's it didnt go so well

[dalboyne]

I suppose if we all rally round and choose to buy British-manufactured cars, that might help?

Last time (i.e. the 70's), I don't think the British products were exactly world-beaters, but things are rather different now?

[Rocco9999]

Quote: Originally Posted by dalboyne (original)

I suppose if we all rally round and choose to buy British-manufactured cars, that might help?

Last time (i.e. the 70's), I don't think the British products were exactly world-beaters, but things are rather different now?

Which is why at the heart of the econmic slow down and supposed credit crunch I went out and bought a brandy new JCW

Supporting the UK economy

[dalboyne]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rocco9999 (original)

Which is why at the heart of the econmic slow down and supposed credit crunch I went out and bought a brandy new JCW

Supporting the UK economy

And exactly why we are trying to buy TWO MINIs at the moment...but the price, spec and colour must all be spot-on! At the moment it seems that BMW/MINI do not need our custom that badly, unlike other manufacturers.....

[dalboyne]

Latest SMMT report (November car sales in the UK) says:

• New car registrations fell 36.8% in November to 100,333 units.
• Year-to-date volume is down 10.7% to 2,023,104 units.
• Diesel market share achieved record high of 47.0% in November.
• Private market particularly weak in November, down 45.1%.

According to their spreadsheet, MINI sales fell 58% compared with a year ago, to only 1723 units. I hope the rest of the world market has been better for MINI

But also, the above data suggests that MINI may be making a big mistake if they do delay launch of a diesel R57 until 2010, as is strongly rumoured.......

[Goonery]

So which one of the US big 3 will be allowed to go to the wall.

My sources tell me that Ford, GM and the other one will not all be party to the US Gov. bailout and that one of them will be hung out to dry

But which one will it be And in what form will the remaining two survive ?

[Rocco9999]

Quote: Originally Posted by Goonery (original)

So which one of the US big 3 will be allowed to go to the wall.

My sources tell me that Ford, GM and the other one will not all be party to the US Gov. bailout and that one of them will be hung out to dry

But which one will it be And in what form will the remaining two survive ?

Ford will survive as it has by far the most cash reserves and a realistic turnaround plan which it has already started to implement.

e.g.
One of its major Truck manufacturing plants in the US has just switched to producing the new Fiesta!
Bold move.

Though I might be biased as I work at Ford (though not for them - if that makes sense???)

[mab01uk]

Final day for Mini agency workers:-
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Oxfordshire | Final day for Mini agency workers

"Almost 300 agency staff are working their last shift at Oxford's Mini production plant. The site is to close later for an extended Christmas break due to a fall in sales.
BMW has said it is responding to economic conditions. Mini sales in the UK are down 58% this month."

[KillerByte]

BBC NEWS | Business | BMW sales dip more than a quarter

Quote:

German carmaker BMW has seen its global monthly sales fall by more than a quarter, as consumers tighten their belts amid the economic slowdown.

BMW brand sales fell 26.2% in November from the same month a year ago, said the firm, while sales of its UK-based Mini subsidiary declined 20.8%.

[mab01uk]

This BBC News report today about a 2 week Jaguar Land Rover factory shutdown, also states that the MINI Plant has a "One week shutdown in February and two weeks in August, planned. "

BBC NEWS | Business | Work suspended at Jaguar factory

[Goonery]

"There is little point in giving money to motor manufacturers so they can send the workers back to build more cars that are going to stand on fields because people don't want them," says Professor Kevin Morley of Warwick Business School, who is a former managing director of Rover.

When he was in charge at Rover he presided over a workforce who built cars which stood on airfields for months, if 30 cars an hour was the production target, then 30 cars would be built every hour and woe betide anyone who stopped the track. No customers! No matter, 30 an hour carry on chaps.