The four-day working week planned for some lines at Rover's Cowley plant will be a temporary measure, according to a company director.

Ian Strachan, director of corporate communications, said the number of workers at the plant would rise by 1,000 next year as planned, despite the 1,500 job cuts across the group nationwide announced yesterday (Thurs).

He said that the plant was in a "special position" since it was earmarked to produce the luxury new R40 model.

He said: "Production at the plant of the 600 and 800 models will be progressively wound down from mid-August. That is why we are introducing the four-day week next month."

But he added: "The plant is in a special position because it is scheduled to produce the new R40.

"The new model means that we shall still be needing another 1,000 employees from the spring of next year when it will go into general production."

Rover yesterday (Thurs) announc- ed that it was planning to axe 1,500 jobs across the group and introduce a four-day week on some lines in Birmingham, Solihull and Cowley in a bid to fight the effects of the strong pound.

The number of job losses at Cowley is expected to be small. About 3,500 now work at the Cowley plant, producing 800 cars a week. The new luxury R40 will be unveiled in October at the Motor Show in Birmingham and go on general release next spring.

Rover may also buy more components for its cars overseas to cut costs, taking more than £1bn away from UK-based suppliers.

The R40 will contain between 25 and 30 per cent of parts made abroad, compared with the current figure of 15 per cent.

Andrew Smith, employment minister and MP for Oxford East, which includes the Cowley works, said: "I am pleased to be reassured by Rover that the 1,000 jobs for the R40 are still in the pipeline.

"Oxford will reap the benefit of BMW's £300m investment in Oxford.

"On the wider issue of the strong pound and Rover's plans to lose 1,500 jobs, I am pleased that there will be no compulsory redundancies.

"We have to avoid an inflationary spiral.

"The economy is working under Labour, but we cannot expect an instant cure after the boom and bust we inherited."

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