Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Electric car deal is key to saving Vauxhall jobs
Prime Minister Gordon Brown will lead a government delegation to Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant today (Tuesday, September 15) in a bid to safeguard the jobs of thousands of Vauxhall workers.
Mr Brown is expected to meet senior management at General Motors UK to discuss proposals for the carmaker's new electric Ampera model to be produced at the Cheshire plant.
The talks will also involve Business Secretary Lord Mandelson amid Government hopes that the factory will become one of the leading electric carmakers in Europe.
GM hopes to build 220,000 plug-in hybrid Ampera models in the UK every year to 2015 and has already met with Mr Brown to try to secure tax breaks to produce the new model.
The carmaker is also thought to want the Prime Minister to order public charging points for electric cars to be installed on thousands of British streets.
The talks, which follow the sale of GM Europe last Thursday (September 10) to a consortium led by Magna International, comes amid concerns that the deal will result in job losses at the UK factory and its sister plant in Luton.
Separately, business secretary Lord Mandelson is seeking talks with senior executives at Magna when he could offer up the prospect of £400 million of taxpayer's money, if the company agrees to safeguard the future of the Luton plant.
GM's Luton van factory is considered to the most vulnerable to closure as a contract to produce van models expires in 2013, and the company has said nothing about a replacement.
DATED: 16.09.09
FEED: AW
