Hello All,
It turns out to be true, I heard the first comments in the news this morning.
BMW officials told that they have negotiations since a couple of weeks with an
American-British investor group.
Problems are basically the old, totally outdated factory in Longsbridge and the
high currency rate of the British Pound, which makes the cars and work
expensive
and not competitive any more. (the UK hasn't joint the Euro currency)
The Unions are going to prepare for a fight, appr. 15,000 people are affected
from a possible lay-off in Middle England.
BMW want to keep Land Rover and the Mini. The quality issue with the Rover 75
has been successfully solved over the last 2 years. I could experience that
myself, I drove on of the first 75 and it was a really bad, however I drove one
of the latest models and it is now close to BMW standard - really good. It's a
pity, that the Rover 75 launch was delayed for over a year due to these quality
problems, it might have started to earn money sooner.
The Rover 75 is pretty well accepted in Europe except the UK. Colleagues told
me
that the Rover has the reputation of an old men's car. I don't know whether
this
is true, however sales in the UK is very weak.
Maybe BMW should have called the Rovers models a Triumph and put BMW engines
under the hood !
Regards,
Jochen Saal
>
> JOBS FEARS AFTER `ROVER SELL-OFF' REPORT
>
> By Alan Jones, Industrial Correspondent, PA News
>
> Fresh fears about the future of Rover cars and tens of thousands of jobs were
> raised tonight after German owner BMW refused to deny a report that it is to
> sell factories, including the huge Longbridge plant.
>
> BMW said it had been working on a number of proposals to "re-structure" the
> Rover group, which employs thousands of workers at Longbridge in Birmingham,
> Cowley near Oxford and other UK plants.
>
> The idea of selling the factories was one of a number of "conceivable
> variants" which will be discussed by the BMW supervisory board at a meeting
> in Munich on Thursday.
>
> The statement immediately set alarm bells ringing among union leaders who
> said they were seeking urgent talks with the company.
>
> Reports have regularly appeared in German magazines and newspapers over the
> past few months suggesting that the Rover subsidiary will be sold because of
> heavy losses but they have always proved unfounded.
>
> But a new report in tomorrow's Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper raised genuine
> concerns among union leaders.
>
> The report said BMW would be presenting a plan to the board meeting to sell
> its Rover factories.
>
> BMW said in its statement, issued in Munich tonight: "The board of management
> at BMW has been working on different scenarios to restructure the Rover
> group.
>
> "The company has reported regularly to the public about the current situation
> at Rover.
>
> "The scenario referred to in the article as a plan is just one of the
> conceivable variants. The decision preferred by the board of management will
> be presented during the regular supervisory board meeting on Thursday the
> 16th and published afterwards."
>
> BMW refused to expand on the statement but also refused to rule out any
> suggestion that it definitely would not be selling Rover.
>
> Sir Ken Jackson, general secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering and
> Electrical Union, said BMW had given assurances that it remained committed to
> Rover.
>
> "Cash has already been pumped into Longbridge and this report will cause
> dismay throughout the Rover workforce because they just want to get on with
> their jobs and build cars.
>
> "I am confident that BMW will remain committed to Rover but they have to make
> their position absolutely clear. It is time to remove any shadow of doubt
> about the future."
>
> Tony Woodley, national officer of the Transport and General Workers Union,
> said he was seeking urgent talks with the company but believed that selling
> off Rover would not make any sense for BMW.
>
> "It would also be unacceptable to the workforce and no doubt the British
> Government."
>
> Garel Rhys of the Cardiff Business School, who is a leading motor industry
> analyst, said any suggestion that BMW was about to sell off Rover or any of
> its factories would be a surprise.
>
> However, he added: "But the issue could well be on the agenda for Thursday's
> meeting."
>
> Unions have warned that 50,000 jobs would be lost throughout the West
> Midlands if Longbridge closed.
>
> The Department of Trade and Industry tonight described the German newspaper
> report as "speculation".
>
> Shadow trade and industry secretary Angela Browning said: "This is a blow for
> the Midlands when only last summer they had been anticipating a new era at
> Rover Cars.
>
> "The key will be, if BMW does sell the company, who buys it and what sort of
> future they envisage."
>
> Liberal Democrat trade and industry spokesman Vince Cable said: "In a
> European market that is seriously overcrowded with a lot of spare capacity,
> British car production has been put at a tremendous disadvantage by an
> overvalued pound.
>
> "Until Government policy brings the currency down to a realistic level
> against the euro this will not be the last of the damage to be inflicted on
> British industry."
>
> The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said BMW had found a buyer for Rover, but
> that the German company would keep Land Rover and Mini.
>
> The paper said the buyer was not an established car manufacturer.
>
> The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents 5,000 firms
> across the city, said that, if true, the BMW move would be a devastating blow
> for the West Midlands region.
>
> Spokesman John Lamb said the chamber had estimated that up to 50,000 jobs in
> the West Midlands economy were dependent on Longbridge's survival.
>
> Mr Lamb added that he was particularly concerned at rumours that Rover could
> be sold off to venture capitalists rather than another automotive concern.
>
> He said closure of the Birmingham plant would result in a "disastrous"
> knock-on effect in the region, leading to tens of thousands of job losses in
> the components industry.
>
> "It would affect the supply chain and there would be a domino effect which
> would be pretty devastating. That's the worrying part of it for us," Mr Lamb
> added.
>
> "We will just have to wait and see, but it would be devastating if its true."
>
> Birmingham Northfield MP Richard Burden, whose constituency covers
> Longbridge, tonight called on BMW to clarify its plans for the plant.
>
> Mr Burden said BMW officials had personally assured him that they were
> committed to Longbridge "for the long term" with an investment strategy that
> would bring £500 million a year into Rover.
>
> "Rumours in the press are not new," said Mr Burden.
>
> "Indeed the most damaging thing for Rover over the past year has been
> constant rumour, speculation and counter-rumour."
>
> He added: "What astonishes me today is that the latest reports circulating in
> the German press have not been conclusively denied by BMW.
>
> "That is why I am calling on BMW to put an end to the speculation and to
> reaffirm their commitment to Rover.
>
> "In doing so I am asking them to do no more than to keep their word to me, to
> the British Government and the 50,000 people whose jobs depend on
> Longbridge."
>
> ******************************************************************************
> *************
> My friends, you may think that this story doesn't perhaps impact on you and
> your Triumph cars, but don't you believe it. The name Triumph, your spare
> parts, and the licence to produce them, is wholly owned by messrs BMW...
>
> BTW, I met Richard Burden, the Member of Parliament for the constituency that
> covers the Birmingham Longbridge plant, just this last Saturday, and he
> seemed pretty confident about BMW's intentions then...wow, what a difference,
> 3 short days can make!
>
> Léon F Guyot
>
> Triumph Sports Six Club
> International Liaison Secretary
> 1963 Triumph Vitesse 2-Litre Convertible
> Wimbledon, London, England.
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