Aston Martin axing 600 jobs to reduce costs
It looks like Ford got rid of Aston Martin just in time. With sales falling just about everywhere, Aston was hardly immune, so the automaker has announced plans to cut up to 600 jobs in the near future. The company is currently working with its union to cut 300 jobs from both the permanent and temporary worker ranks. Aston Martin joins Bentley which is also making cuts in response to the now official recession that the economy has descended into. Prior to Ford selling off the brand, Aston was believed to have been the only profitable member of the former Premier Automotive Group. With German brands like BMW, Mercedes and Porsche all suffering as well, the big question now is how long will it until we hear about layoffs at Ferrari? Press release below the fold.
Press Release
Gaydon, 1 December 2008 - Aston Martin and its Trade Union partners have today begun consultation on a range of cutbacks to reflect the current downturn in the world economy and the corresponding fall in car sales. It is hoped to do this by minimising the impact on employees as far as possible, but the possibility of up to 300 permanent and a similar number of temporary job losses cannot be ruled out.
Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: "Like other premium car brands, Aston Martin has been forced to take action to respond to the unprecedented downturn in the global economy. These are regrettable but necessary measures in the extraordinary market conditions we all now face.
Overall we remain confident that the Aston Martin brand is the strongest it has ever been - with dedicated design, engineering and manufacturing facilities and an award-winning product range, we remain well positioned for the upturn in the economy."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mobius_1 6:04PM (12/01/2008)
Ouch, even Aston are feeling the crunch... I wonder how many One-77's they are going to be able to sell now that so many of them bankers don't have million pound bonuses to blow.
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Torrent 6:52PM (12/01/2008)
man that sucks.
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MGBYG 8:31PM (12/01/2008)
Doesn't sound like many folks compared to a typical Ford or GM layoff, but that's got to be a huge chunk of the AM workforce.
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Swede 10:34AM (12/02/2008)
30% of their workforce.
Throwback 9:07PM (12/01/2008)
Where are all the people who criticized Ford for dumping Aston and Jag/LR? Aston is losing sales and Tata has asked (begged?) the Brits for 1 Billion pounds to help Jag/LR. Looks like Mulally knew what he was doing.
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