BMW Group responds to ongoing market weakness

Volumes adjusted while securing jobs Selective short-time work at
various sites to supplement existing measures Munich. Conditions
remain challenging on the international automotive markets. This trend
also has an impact on the BMW Group. Thanks to a number of flexibility
instruments the company has been able to adjust production early to
weaker demand over the past few months, while the same time safeguarding
jobs. Flex-time accounts have been reduced and leave taken for this
purpose. Greater use has been made of sabbaticals and flexible
deployment of employees within the BMW Group's production network. In
addition, the company also made extensive cutbacks in the number of
temporary workers, as earlier reported. Management and employee
representatives have now agreed to expand the initiatives for adjusting
production volumes to include selective short-time work at specific
plants. The goal is to achieve the necessary cost reductions while at
the same time securing jobs. This measure is restricted to the
Dingolfing, Regensburg, Landshut and Berlin facilities. In Berlin only
brake disc production for automobiles will be affected and not
motorcycle production. A total of approximately 26,000 employees will
work short-time on certain days during the months of February and March
(Dingolfing 15,000, Regensburg 8,000, Landshut 2,700, Berlin 190).
There are no plans for short-time work at other German vehicle
production plants such as Munich and Leipzig. Even working short-time,
the net income of employees with tariff contracts will amount to at
least 93% of regular levels. In the event that the net compensation of
such employees, inclusive of a short-time allowance, should fall below
93% of this level, the company will compensate employees for the
difference. "Safeguarding jobs - even in difficult times - by
using a broad range of flexibility instruments has always been one of
our key strengths," said Harald Krüger, Human Resources
Director of BMW AG, on Tuesday in Munich. "Our wide variety of
work schedule models helps us to achieve that. In addition to these
measures we are also using a sophisticated combination of flex-time
accounts, proactive leave planning and temporary short-time working at
specific plants. I am confident we will emerge from the current
difficult situation stronger than before - not least as a result of
these measures. The highly-qualified employees we are able to retain
today will give us a decisive competitive edge in the future."
Manfred Schoch, Chairman of the General Works Council of the BMW Group:
"Particularly in the difficult times we are currently experiencing,
the agreement we have reached represents a good compromise, achieved
through constructive cooperation between management and employee
representatives. It allows the necessary volume adjustments to be made,
while securing jobs for employees." If you have any queries,
please contact: Corporate and Governmental Affairs Michael Rebstock,
Business Communications Telephone: +49 89 382-20470 , Fax: +49 89
382-24418 Marc Hassinger, Business and Financial Communications
Telefon: +49 89 382-23362, Fax: +49 89 382-24418 Media website:
www.press.bmwgroup.com E-Mail: presse@bmw.de