BMW said Sunday it will put all staff at the German carmaker's main factory near Munich back on full-time work at the end of this month. Currently 8,300 staff at the Dingolfing plant are working a reduced week under a government-assisted programme that tops up income shortfalls.

A string of German companies have recently said they are returning to full output after the recession. A spokesman said BMWneeded plenty of staff because it is launching the latest model of its 5 Series cars in Germany in March.

BMW began cutting output in late 2008 as the recession hit world sales of its premium cars. At the peak of the downturn last year, 25,000 workers in its various plants had their weekly working hours reduced. The government programme encourages companies to retain staff and not lay them off.

Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 2010