CAR workers at BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford have been told they will have to take an enforced holiday during next year’s February half-term school break.

Spokesman Angela Stangroom said the week-long closure, only a few weeks after a fortnight-long Christmas break, was “in response to normal fluctuations in demand for the car”.

She confirmed about 140 temporary workers were leaving gradually in the run-up to the axing of Saturday working at the end of this month, reducing the workforce at the Cowley factory to about 4,000 people.

Most of the workers had been taken on since July on short-term contracts as cover for holidays and natural wastage in the workforce, added Ms Stangroom.

The move comes despite Mini recording its best ever September sales last month. But the rise was mainly because of the new Countryman model, built in Austria.

When BMW announced the change in shifts last month it admitted “a good deal of uncertainty” was affecting the motor industry.

She said: “While the plant will stop regular Saturday working from the end of October, the new shift pattern still provides the option for some Saturday production in future, should this be required.”

Figures released by parent company BMW showed 25,222 Minis were sold globally in September, a rise of 1.9 per cent on the same month last year.