TODAY'S announcement of a £100 million boost to BMW's Cowley plant will help make the the workforce secure at Swindon Pressings.

The success of the new Mini has led BMW to expand its Cowley factory known as Plant Oxford and take on about 200 new staff.

Cowley, which employs 4,500 people, is the only place in the world where the Mini is made and last year 190,000 rolled off the production lines. Swindon Pressings supplies many of the body parts.

BMW spokeswoman Angela Stangroom said: "The investment is all about Plant Oxford but obviously there is a strong link between Oxford and Swindon.

"It's good news because it's based on the success of the Mini so far and of course Swindon is sharing in it because it is the main supplier of pressings.

"It is securing the workforce at Swindon. We are looking at investment in the body shop area in Oxford which is an internal customer for the panels from Swindon."

The 500,000th Mini came off the production lines last year and sales continue to go from strength to strength.

However, recent news from Swindon Pressings has been less healthy.

In October, it announced that 400 jobs would be lost by next summer, although many will be transferred to Oxford or go through voluntary redundancy.

That will take the number of staff to about 1,100. In the mid 1960s it employed 6,595 more than the railway works did at the time.

In January last year, 330 jobs were lost, a move attributed to contracts with MG Rover and Land Rover expiring.

Amicus union regional organiser Jim D'Avila said the union had hoped that, rather than give more work to Oxford, BMW would allocate extra to Swindon to stave off the need for job losses.

But he said: "We have been told it's impossible because it's track-based work. The problem is that there are surplus people in Swindon and vacancies in Oxford."

Mr D'Avila said the union is encouraging Swindon workers whose jobs are under threat to transfer and take up a "golden hello," or take up new careers. And it is pushing BMW to make the transfer package as attractive as possible.

He said he hopes that when the imbalance between the two plants stabilises, which will probably be next year, Swindon Pressings will be able to take on more work and increase its capacity.

Following a meeting with Swindon Council representatives after the October announcement, BMW wrote to the council to confirm that Swindon Pressings has a long-term future.

Derique Montaut, who worked in the industry for 42 years, including 26 as a senior shop steward at Swindon Pressings and now represents Moredon on Swindon Council for Labour, said: "Today's announcement is welcome news, but the thing that does concern me is that Swindon is focused on a single model. I hope it will diversify for job security, and from local government point of view, because it is important that it continues to be a success."

Tom Morton