Submitted by CARPE DIEM

COLUMBIA, S.C. — On one side of the Atlantic Ocean, BMW says it will cut 7.5% of its work force over two years. On this side of the water, the company says it plans to increase production by more than 50% by 2012.

By building the cars in the U.S., BMW can save money on the lower dollar and on wages because its South Carolina workers make less than German workers. And the declining dollar also means BMW and other foreign automakers probably will start buying locally for more of the parts used by their U.S. plants. That shift in production has led to the job cuts at home for the Munich-based luxury car maker.

In the U.S., BMW Manufacturing expects to increase production to 240,000 cars by 2012. That’s up from 155,000 last year.
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