Aston Martin workers put on three day week
Jan 28 2009 by David Wallis, Birmingham Post
Nearly 600 workers at luxury Midland car firm Aston Martin have been put on a three-day week as the UK car sales crisis worsens.
The Gaydon-based manufacturer announced today that production employees would work from Monday to Wednesday only as a “temporary measure” to fight the downturn.
The latest cutbacks come less than two months after Aston Martin revealed it was cutting 600 jobs. About 300 temporary workers have already left while a 90-day consultation period over the proposed loss of 300 permanent posts is still underway.
Aston Martin spokesman Matthew Clarke said: “Car sales are down everywhere in the world – everyone has got to adjust.
“I am sure that there will be an upturn but nobody knows when it is going to be. It would be our expectation that later in the year, as things improve and car sales show an increase, we may be able to increase the hours.”
Mr Clarke said workers would not suffer loss of pay, with their hours banked under the firm’s working time flexibility agreement to cater for reduced demand.
“This is very much a short-term measure. We believe the economy will turn round and car sales will recover, but nobody knows when, and therefore we are proceeding cautiously.”
He said the consultation period over the loss of 300 permanent jobs would continue until the end of February.
The jobs axe announced before Christmas was ordered despite four consecutive record years of sales for Aston Martin, which launched its Gaydon plant in 2003.
Last year the Warwickshire manufacturer produced about 6,500 cars.
It has created 1,000 jobs in the past eight years, but has been hit by the dramatic sales downturn in common with all other car firms.
The company, sold by Ford to Formula One motorsport tycoon David Richards and two Kuwaiti funds for £479 million about 18 months ago, also extended its Christmas break by two weeks, with workers only returning to the Gaydon plant on January 19.
Models produced at Gaydon include V8 Vantages, which sell from £83,191, the £159,043 DBS and the DB9, which starts at £111,526.
