The Mini owner, BMW, has ended 180 agency staff contracts at its factory in Oxford as the British car industry grapples with global economic uncertainty and steep US tariffs.
Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs in March, hitting all cars imported to the US from overseas from 3 April, in the hope of forcing carmakers to invest in production in the US. The tariffs have left British manufacturers who sell large numbers of cars to the US scrambling for a response.
