Vauxhall Plant Escapes First Round Of Redundancies

General Motors’ Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port will escape redundancies under an early restructuring plan laid out by the US carmaker.

The plant will work on production of the new Astra Sports Tourer, Nick Reilly, president of GM’s international operations said.

On November, GM pulled out of a deal to sell Opel, its German car manufacturer, and Britain’s Vauxhall to Magna International, a Canadian auto parts maker.

Opel and Vauxhall, which together make GM’s European operations, employ more than 50,000 workers. About half of the workers are in Germany, with smaller numbers in Spain, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Belgium.

GM’s decision to back out of the sale led to the departure of its European president Carl-Peter Forster, who had supported the deal with Magna. Mr Reilly is overseeing the restructuring of the business until a new Europe chief is selected.

GM’s plans for Vauxhall are similar to those proposed by Magna.

About 9,000 jobs will be cut from the European business under GM’s restructuring plan, at least half of which will be lost in Germany. All four of Opel’s German plants will, however, stay open.

GM gave no details on the future of its Luton plant, which could lose as many as 354 jobs. GM said that it expected to give an update on Luton in coming days. It warned that the future of its plant in Antwerp, Belgium, which employs 2,700 people, was uncertain.

The carmaker needs about €3.3 billion in funding for the restructuring. The German Government had been ready to provide funding for Magna but will not negotiate with GM until all European governments affected by GM's plan meet on December 4 to discuss a coordinated response.

GM seems almost certain to shutter its Saab brand in Sweden since Koenigsegg Automotive ended discussions to buy Saab on December 1.

Article written by: Times Online
Published on: 12:29 27-11-2009