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Theresa May to meet Peugeot boss amid Vauxhall jobs fears

Theresa May is to meet Peugeot (Other OTC: PUGOF - news) boss Carlos Tavares over his firm's plans to buy General Motors (NYSE: GM - news) ' European business, which includes Vauxhall.

Some 35,000 Vauxhall employees in the UK could be affected by the deal, which would turn Peugeot owner PSA Group into Europe's second-largest car maker.

Downing Street said it had received a request for a meeting, which "will take place, in principle, subject to diary availability".

PSA said it was engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with all parties involved in the bid for GM's European division, which also includes German-based Opel.

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A spokesman said: "Our intention is to establish the same maturity in our exchanges in France, Germany and the UK.

"This is why Carlos Tavares has asked to meet Theresa May as it was done with German authorities."

Mrs May is expected to be joined by Business Secretary Greg Clark, who met with French industry minister Christophe Sirugue and PSA board members to discuss the buyout deal.

Mr Clark has also held talks with GM president Dan Ammann and Len McCluskey, general secretary of trade union Unite.

Mr McCluskey, who said he had been given "no assurances" over jobs by the GM boss, is also set to meet PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares next week.

The Unite (Frankfurt: 634811 - news) boss said he would use the talks to "press the case for the UK's world class facilities and workforce".

He added he would ensure PSA "understands fully that...thousands of dedicated UK workers deserve a strong backer and a positive future."

General Motors employs 4,500 staff at car plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton and 23,000 workers in its retail network across the UK.

In recent years, GM has struggled to turn its European business around and it announced last year that it would raise UK car prices by 2.5% to deal with the "speed bump" Brexit had presented to its plans.

Speaking to Sky News, former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable said Brexit would likely cause "a dimension of uncertainty" in talks between GM and PSA.

He said: "I suspect the issue in the minds of the owners and the potential owners is about that big strategic question, rather than the details of what the British government can and can't do."