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Rubery Owen dispute begins to hurt BLMC

7 April 1973

Yesterday 1,200 workers at British Leyland's Rover car plant at Solihull, Birmingham, had to be laid off because of a shortage of wheels, made by Rubery Owen. Production of the 2000 and 3500 range was stopped. Some workers were also laid off at the Jaguar plant in Coventry.

The main problems for British Leyland are, however, likely. to come next week as stocks of components for the Austin. Morris car range become depleted. Production could be hit at both Longbridge, Birmingham, and Cowley, Oxford, where British Leyland has recently suffered dislocation because of disputes over work study and lay-off pay.

These disputes appeared to have been resolved yesterday when 3,500 body shop workers at Cowley, who have been on strike throughout this week, voted to return to work on Monday. The shutdown of Marina and Maxi production during this week has cost another £5m worth of lost output to be added to the £10m lost during disputes on the assembly lines last month.

More news from the archive

Thu, 29 Mar 1973
By R. W. Shakespeare Northern Industrial Correspondent After eight days of disruption during which up to 10,000 workers have been...
Tue, 03 Apr 1973
A strike by 2,400 workers on the Maxi and Marina lines at the Cowley car body plant, Oxford, which began yesterday, threatens to cause...
Wed, 04 Apr 1973
In Lancashire more than 8,500 workers at British Leyland's five bus and lorry plants at Leyland and Chorley began an all-out strike...
Thu, 05 Apr 1973
British Leyland's costly labour troubles continued yesterday with 19,300 workers idle through strikes and lay-offs. Almost all car...
Fri, 06 Apr 1973
British Leyland's labour troubles which have halted car and commercial vehicle production in several major centres and cost many millions...
Tue, 10 Apr 1973
Marina production at the Austin-Morris assembly plant at Cowley resumed last night after being brought to a standstill earlier because...
Wed, 11 Apr 1973
By R. W. Shakespeare Northern Industrial Correspondent British Leyland, which has lost more than £25m Worth of vehicle output during...
Fri, 13 Apr 1973
A broken down BMC 440 van was dumped yesterday outside the London home of Lord Stokes, chairman of the British Leyland Motor Corporation,...
Tue, 17 Apr 1973
As the strike by more than 2,000 workers in two Midlands factories of the Rubery Owen group, one of the country's leading component...
Wed, 18 Apr 1973
By R. W. Shakespeare British Leyland had to lay off more workers at its Castle Bromwich car body plant yesterday, bringing the total...
 

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