Unions accused BMW on Monday of exploiting Britain’s flexible labour laws after the Munich-based carmaker cut 850 jobs at its Mini car plant near Oxford.

Unite, Britain’s biggest union, denounced the luxury carmaker for wielding the axe on some 850 agency workers in a way it could not do legally in Germany. Tony Woodley, Unite’s joint general secretary, warned of “jobs carnage in our car industry” after BMW said it was eliminating a shift in response to slower demand.