BMW to cut back labor force in Greer - Greenville News
The new layoffs come on top of nearly 700 Tier One contract workers who lost their jobs at BMW in December.
Those involved in the April layoffs work primarily in the BMW warehouse, Hitt said.
Randy Hatcher, president of MAU Inc., a Georgia-based staffing agency of which Tier One is a division, said the number of employees that could be affected is dynamic and changing by the day. More information could be available in a week or so.
"Market conditions are changing," Hitt said. "This is clearly a reaction to market conditions."
Although more than 70 percent of the Greer plant's production is exported, he said, BMW's U.S. sales have been hammered -- like those of other automakers -- by the recession, credit crunch, rising unemployment and lack of consumer confidence. BMW's sales braked sharply in December, falling 35.9 percent. Sales in 2008 dropped 9.7 percent from the previous year.
Sales of the X5 sports activity vehicle, built locally, plummeted 41.9 percent in December and 9.5 percent for the year.
