Wheels off the UK car industry?
Updated on 28 May 2009
UK car makers have responded to the economic downturn by cutting jobs, reducing working hours and suspending production.
Here are the latest figures.
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) vehicle production figures across the UK:
- The number of new cars produced in April in the UK crashed 55.3 per cent from April 2008 to just 68,258 cars.
- Only 7,655 commercial vehicles were made in April, down 65.2 per cent on February 2008.
- The number of vehicles exported also fell by 56.5 per cent to 75,913.
- Reducing working hours and cutting pay by 10 per cent from 1 April 2009 for one year.
- Cut 200 temporary jobs and opened a voluntary redundancy scheme.
- Cutting one in two shifts at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire producing the Auris model.
- Suspending production for two weeks in February, a week in March, and again for two weeks in April.
- 850 weekend and agency jobs cut from the the Mini plant in Oxford.
- The Christmas 2008 shutdown was extended by 10 days, and the factory closed for one week in February.
- Around 300 agency staff lost their jobs and the plant a Cowley will also cut production from seven days a week to five.
- Cut 1,200 jobs from its Sunderland plant in January 2008.
- One shift on each line was stopped until April.
- The North East plant also had a two-week shutdown late last year.
- However, the company has announced it will be creating 150 jobs to deal with increased demanded caused by scrappage schemes across Europe, with more temporary staff on four-month contracts at the Sunderland plant from June.
- A series of one-day shutdowns and production cuts last year.
- Cut jobs of 150 agency workers and 300 managers, around 1,000 redundancies planned in total.
- Workers have accepted a pay freeze and a four-day week.
- Offered nine-month sabbaticals at less than 30 per cent pay to Ellesmere Port staff.
- Extended the annual Christmas 2008 closure from two weeks to 40-days.
- Reduced the working week from 38 to 30 hours at Ellesmere Port and workers could also see a similar reduction in Luton, resulting in pay cuts for workers.
- Fourteen non-production days in January and five in February.
- Introduced extended production break over Christmas 2008.
- Production at Swindon factory to be suspended for four months until 1 June, an extension from the two months initially planned.
- Workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a three per cent pay cut, lasting for ten months.
- Staff were on a three-day week in October and had a longer Christmas 2008 break.
- The Crewe plant will be closed for seven weeks from the beginning of March.
- The plant is now operating a full working week, but have dropped their night shift, reducing the manufacturing shifts from two to one.
- The firm has cut 450 jobs across the company, the majority of which through voluntary redundancy, and all staff have taken a 10 per cent pay cut between May and December.
- Extended production break over Christmas 2008.
- Around 600 redundancies have been confirmed with employees now on a three-day week.
- The manufacturing line for Transit vans in Southampton has reduced its output, with non-production resulting in an average four-day working week between January and May.
- The factory is currently closed for three weeks.
- Around 850 jobs are being axed, with around 550 jobs cut at the at the Transit van plant in Southampton.
- The manufacturing plants at Ford Dagenham and Bridgend remain largely unaffected, a spokesman for Ford said.
- In contrast, Rolls Royce have announced it is creating 150 mew jobs by the end of the year to support production of the new model, the Ghost.
Other manufacturers have also announced that they will be cutting costs:
- Tesla Motors, manufacturer of the all-electric Tesla Roadster sports car, has announced that it is to lay off 10 of its 50 workers at Hethel.
- LDV's plant in Birmingham has not built any vehicles since before Christmas 2008 as a planned management buyout is finalised.
