BMW to cut another 5,600 by end of 2008

Luxury car maker BMW AG said Wednesday it will cut another 5,600 jobs by the end of 2008, on top of 2,500 other positions that have already been eliminated, as it moves to pare expenses amid a wider cost-cutting program.
Speaking to reporters in Munich, where the company is based, BMW's head of personnel, Ernst Baumann, said that the jobs being cut include 2,500 full-time workers and 2,500 temporary workers, along with 600 other positions in Germany and elsewhere.
He said that another 2,500 positions had already been eliminated, bringing the total number of cuts and planned cuts to 8,100 positions. That would represent about 7.5 percent of BMW's worldwide work force of almost 108,000 workers.
BMW's brands include its namesake luxury cars along with the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands as well as motorcycles.© The Associated Press