Business Secretary heads to Paris for Vauxhall jobs talks

Business Secretary Greg Clark has headed to Paris for talks with Peugeot (Other OTC: PUGOF - news) bosses as he seeks to secure British jobs at takeover target Vauxhall.

Mr Clark was expected to meet French industry minister Christophe Sirugue and board members of Peugeot owner PSA Group, which is in talks to acquire General Motors (NYSE: GM - news) ' loss-making European operation.

The deal would include Vauxhall, which has plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton employing 4,500 staff.

Mr Clark's visit to France comes after GM president Dan Ammann travelled to London to discuss the plans with Mr Clark and Len McCluskey, general secretary of trade union Unite.

Mr McCluskey said he had received no assurances about thousands of British jobs at Vauxhall after the meeting.

He said: "No assurances at the moment. But this is a story that is unfolding - we'll wait to see what the next instalment is."

Mr Clark struck a more positive tone, saying the talks were "constructive".

"I emphasised the importance and successful presence of Vauxhall in the UK and welcomed GM's recognition of the excellent and committed workforce at Ellesmere Port, Luton and across the UK," he said.

"There is some way to go in discussions between GM and PSA but I was reassured by GM's intention, communicated to me, to build on the success of these operations rather than rationalise them.

"This follows on from GM's recent significant investments both at Ellesmere Port and Luton. We will continue to be in close contact with GM and PSA in the days and weeks ahead."

GM said in a statement: "While we have no definitive news to report at this time, we can affirm that our objective in exploring opportunities with PSA Groupe is to build on the success of Opel Vauxhall and to put the business and the operations in the strongest possible position for the future.

"We look forward to engaging with our stakeholders as part of these ongoing discussions."

The deal would see GM exit the UK and Europe and turn the PSA Group into Europe's second-largest car maker.

It would have a 16% share of the market and see Vauxhall and its European brand, Opel, shift to the French government-backed automotive giant.

Germany has already expressed concerns about the proposed takeover, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet discussing the possible impact for German workers on Wednesday.