BMW staffs a car plant with the over-50s

Now this is interesting. Nothing to do with marketing but maybe a sign of the future of employment.

BMW has decided to invest a large sum of money on retaining its older workers by equipping an entire production line that will be operated by over-50s.

The new £18m plant has been designed to include ergonomic back supports for workers, enhance lighting to ease the strain on older eyes, and mobile tool trolleys that mean workers don't have to strain themselves reaching for equipment.

The workers will all be based on the line that deals with the chassis and drive components, and also features stools in the places where they might have once stood for hours and a 'relaxation room' in place of the toilet. Even the speed of the product line is being slowed down.

How refreshing to see that a company is taking a proactive step to adapting its workplace to the ageing workforce. If this had happened in the UK there would be an uproar that the company was depriving young people of employment.

Maybe this reflects the fact that the Germans have such higher rates of productivity than us Brits. Dick Stroud