BMW to build Minis at Nedcar plant

Thursday 05 July 2012

German car maker BMW will begin producing Minis at the Nedcar plant in Limburg from the end of 2014, the NRC reports on Thursday.

Mitsubishi is due to pull out of the plant at the end of this year. This means all 1,500 workers at the plant will lose their jobs, but will also get a job guarantee if the BMW deal goes through, the paper said.

In addition, agreement has been reached with the social affairs ministry to pay all the staff unemployment benefit up to 100% of their current salary pending the restart, the sources say.

Rebuilding the production line will cost €200m. Once operational, BMW will produce between 60,000 and 90,000 Mini cars at the plant up to 2020.

The paper says the deal still has to be signed but there is little chance it will now collapse. However, Nedcar has been told to continue looking for other manufacturers in an effort to lessen its reliance on a single contract.

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