Fears grow of job losses at BMW's Mini car plant

UNIONS were last night braced for cutbacks at the Mini car plant, which is expected to see hundreds of workers laid off in the latest blow to the motor industry.

Agency workers are expected to bear the brunt of cuts at the company's factory at Cowley, near Oxford, which employs 4,500 staff.

Talks between the BMW-owned firm and unions have been held over changing the current work pattern.

The factory will also stop producing cars for a week after tonight's late shift.

Almost a third of the Cowley workforce are agency staff and they are expected to be the first target of the cuts.

An announcement about job losses could be made later today, bringing more grim news to an industry which has laid off thousands of workers in recent weeks.

A spokesman for Mini confirmed talks had been held with unions over possible changes to shift patterns, adding that any reports of specific numbers of job cuts were "speculation".