Car maker VDL Nedcar is to cut a further 2,000 jobs next March, leaving just 450 people working at the Born-based factory.

VDL builds cars on behalf of other companies and its contract with BMW will shortly expire. Some 1,800 jobs went at the beginning of this month and, the company has now said, most of the rest will go next year.

We “have fought extremely hard” to find a new client, factory director John van Soerland said, blaming overcapacity in car manufacturing for the failure.

The company continues to look for new clients and is keeping on 450 people because of their skills. This means more people will remain on the books than needed to keep the company ticking over, Soerland said.

Nedcar, the Netherlands’ only car manufacturer, employed 7,500 people at its peak.

Parent company VDL aims to use the excess factory space for other ventures, such as assembling batteries and the coversion of special vehicles.