Bermuda Motors has made five redundancies in its spare parts and sales departments.All those who lost their jobs were either Bermudians or spouses of Bermudians and were given severance packages.The company said the job losses were came as a result of “the review of the Bermuda Motors business model, changes in the current economic environment and overall trends and best practices in the global automotive industry”.“Making these kinds of decisions is always difficult,” Bermuda Motors general managers Michael Butler said. “Our philosophy has always been to be open and transparent with our employees.“We have been in dialogue with the team for quite some time about the business, the economic environment and the potential for restructuring.”The company’s statement added that Bermuda Motors, like many other international and local businesses, was having to make difficult decisions in order to sustain a healthy business in Bermuda.“Car sales in Bermuda have gradually declined over the past few years from approximately 2,000 annually to 1,600, with some projections showing as little as 1,000 cars sold in 2011,” the statement added.“Bermuda Motors continues to employ 50 employees and invests in its people in order to give them the training and resources needed to effectively sell and repair its fleet of brands including Ford, KIA, BMW, MINI and Toyota.”Mr Butler added that the company was committed to being in business in Bermuda.Retail Sales Index figures have shown double-digit percentage declines in sales in six of the first seven months of this year as consumers have tightened the purse strings in the struggling economy. In July, the year-on-year sales decline was 44.7 percent.