Production halted at Longbridge

Production of the MGTF sports car restarted at the factory in 2008

Production lines at the MG Rover plant in Longbridge have been stopped and up to 20 employees could be made redundant, the BBC has learned.

Production of the MGTF sports car restarted at the factory last year.

It is thought production work will not restart until next March, BBC Midlands Today Transport Correspondent, Peter Plisner, said.

MG Motor UK Ltd, previously Nanjing, said it was making some workers redundant but had not decided how many.

In a statement, the company, which bought MG Rover's assets following its collapse in April 2005, said: "Clearly this is a difficult time for employees and it would be irresponsible to make this a bigger issue than it is".

Peter Plisner said the firm had confirmed 2009 production of the MGTF model at Longbridge had now ended.

Under Chinese ownership, it was hoped that new models would be built at the plant and more jobs created.

But in April MG Motor UK Ltd said it could not make assurances of long-term employment stability for staff due to the current economic climate.