Union leaders claim to have seen the first evidence that up to 10,000 jobs
face the axe because of the shock sell-off of car giant Rover.
Terry Pye, national official of the Manufacturing Science and Finance union,
said evidence provided by the company showed that at least 8,500 jobs will be
lost if the sale to venture capitalists Alchemy Partners goes ahead.
Among the losses could be around 2,500 jobs in car assembly at the Longbridge
plant in Birmingham, 2,000 at Gaydon in Warwickshire, 500 at Cowley near
Oxford, 500 at Swindon and 2,000 powertrain jobs split between Longbridge and
Solihull, according to union officials.
But Rover said it would be "quite impossible" to detail job losses in such a
short period of time.
"These figures have certainly not been presented by Rover to the trade
unions. We have issued no guidance on figures and while inevitably there will
be job losses as restructuring takes place, it is far too early to say how
many there will be and where they will come," said a spokesman.
Mr Pye told BBC Radio WM that the information was provided by BMW Rover
personnel management.
"As far as we're concerned, they are authentic figures we've been given
directly from the company."
Union officials were meeting with BMW bosses in Munich today, warning the
German firm that it faces a fight over its decision to break-up the
loss-making subsidiary.
Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers is due to meet BMW executives
tomorrow.
The talks come as Alchemy Partners, the venture capitalists set to buy parts
of the car giant, was due to announce key members of its management team.
The company faces competition from West Midlands development millionaire John
Hemming who revealed he was hoping to create an alternative consortium to bid
for Rover.
Yesterday it emerged that production at two of Rover's plants was being cut
back and holidays extended.
Production of the flagship Rover 75 at Cowley was being slashed from 2,200 to
1,000 a week, while cuts of 20% were being made at Longbridge.
The night shift was being axed at Cowley, but none of the 3,500 workers were
being laid off.
The production cutback at Longbridge will mainly hit the Rover 25 and 45
models, of which 4,400 are usually built per week. The three-day Easter
shutdown at Longbridge was being extended to five days.
The decisions were believed to have been taken because of a predicted fall in
sales caused by the uncertain future of the Rover operation.
Rover produced more than 58,000 of its 75 models last year but sold only
25,000.
Léon
Triumph Sports Six Club
International Liaison Secretary
1963 Triumph Vitesse 2-Litre Convertible
Wimbledon, London, England.
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