AXED Mini factory staff are being offered jobs back as the Cowley plant swings back towards seven-days-a-week production.

BMW announced last night it needs 250 temporary staff to fill extra shifts for at least the next three months after an upswing in demand — just three months after it cut 850 staff because of falling sales.

The company is to increase production hours from July, reinstating shifts every Saturday with occasional Sunday work planned too.

It had cut the weekend shifts in February but two weeks ago announced the planned reintroduction of two Saturday shifts a month, following a ballot of staff.

Spokesman Rebecca Baxter said: “Obviously, people who have the skills that we need to do the jobs will probably have worked for us before.

“Just to manage expectations — we imagine that they are likely to be with us for about three months.

“I think the general message is that we saw an uplift in orders during May and we will need to increase production hours from July.

“We need to be cautious about how we view this. No-one is saying that this is the end of the recession.”

Last night, ex-BMW workers were cautious about returning.

Father-of-two Jamie McFarlane, 28, said: “There’s no chance I would go back. I’ve turned a negative into a positive and moved on. It left me a bitter taste in my mouth. The whole procedure and how they treated us and told us was wrong.

“I’m happy for other people if they get work again.”

Steve Perry, 46, of Cirencester, said: “The past few months have been very difficult. I worked at BMW for four years. I would definitely go back but this time I wouldn’t join the union.”

Simon Page, 43, of Blackbird Leys, worked at BMW for four-and-a-half years and now restores classic cars.

He said: “I don’t think I’d go back because it’s not worth it. You go there for a few days work a week and get treated like an idiot.”

The 250 agency workers will be joined by a voluntary crew of permanent staff on the new weekend shifts.

The voluntary crew will cover occasional Sunday working, with the first planned on July 5. The first Saturday shift is planned for June 13. Permanent Saturday working will start on July 4.

Because of the different shifts, each individual worker will only be required to work a maximum of two Saturdays a month. The new shift patterns would continue until the end of 2009, Mrs Baxter added.

David Doughty, chief executive of the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, said: “It’s great news because they are the biggest private sector employer in Oxfordshire.

“BMW have to have a flexible work force and if you are an agency worker then this is par for the course.”