Hard times returning

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
COVENTRY. SEPT. 19

In the Midlands motor car industry today there were fears among thousands of car workers and union officials that harder times were returning. The slowing pace of car exports to the United States in recent months. coupled with a toughening in home market sales, has brought uneasiness to the industry.

Today Standard-Triumph International, of Coventry, officially announced that short-time working was to be introduced soon at their Coventry factories. At the same time the company's car body subsidiary, Mulliners Ltd., Birmingham. said that a cut in their labour force was being considered. Several hundred workers are likely to lose their jobs. Both companies have given as their reasons the seasonal decline in orders "aggravated by the Government's financial policy ".

A Standard-Triumph official said that the introduction of short time at Coventry would enable the company to retain their labour force. Mulliners are chiefly concerned with the production of TR 3 sports car bodies.

About 8,000 production workers are employed at Standard's Coventry factories, and arrangemerts for the short-time working are still being discussed between the management and shop stewards. It is expected that the five-day week production will be maintained, but various groups of employees will probably lose one day or a half-day on a rota scheme. Meanwhile. at several other Coventry factories, including the Rootes Group, Daimler, Carbodies, and Morris Motors, varying and spasmodic short-time working is in operation. Also at Carbodies about 200 may lose their jobs because of a cut in the firm's work for the Ford Motor Company. Today Massey-Ferguson announced that 2,000 assembly and machine shop workers were to go on short time beginning this week. Some will lose one day a week and others half a day.