BMW’s Rover to Cut 5,000 Jobs, Report Says

German car maker BMW’s cost-cutting drive at its loss-making Rover subsidiary will result in the loss of at least 5,000 jobs in the British automotive parts industry, the Independent newspaper in London reported. The newspaper said the figure was based on an estimate by a leading supplier. A spokesman for Rover said: “We have announced no [new] job cuts.” An existing program of 2,500 voluntary cuts is close to being completed. BMW and the British government are close to agreeing to a financial package to rescue Rover’s Longbridge plant, which employs 14,000. BMW is believed to be seeking $490 million of British taxpayers’ money to help keep the plant open. . . . Separately, BMW’s new chief executive Joachim Milberg said the company was not considering a tie-up, despite reports that a number of auto companies, including General Motors Corp., might be examining possible takeover bids. Milberg said there was no truth to reports.