Yahoo Finance Government vows to do all it can to protect jobs at Vauxhall's UK plants
The business secretary has promised the government’s “unbounded commitment” to protecting jobs at Vauxhall amid concerns over the carmaker’s future.
Fears are growing about plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton as the French owner of Peugeot and Citroën, PSA Group, presses ahead with talks to buy General Motors’ European business, which includes Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in the UK.
Greg Clark told the House of Commons the government would “do everything we can” to protect Vauxhall and had held constructive talks with the bosses of GM and PSA.
Vauxhall employs 4,500 people across its UK production sites and has a pension deficit of as much as £1bn, which pensions experts say could scupper the proposed deal.
UK union sources are concerned that the Vauxhall plants will be at the centre of cutbacks after the deal is completed. Clark sought to allay such fears on Monday as he responded to an urgent question from Justin Madders, the MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston.
He said: “My personal commitment and the commitment of this government will be unbounded to make sure the future of the workforce will be maintained. I will of course work with all the groups, including the trade unions, including the workforce, to make that case, if new owners there are to be, to those new owners.”
The business secretary’s comments are the latest attempt by the government to show it is behind the automotive industry, after Nissan, which owns Britain’s largest car plant in Sunderland, received assurances that its UK operations would not lose out from the impact of Brexit.
Clark said he had made it clear to Dan Ammann, the president of GM, “the importance we attach to Vauxhall’s presence in the UK and to its workforce”, and that PSA executives told him they had avoided closing plants in recent years.
“The PSA executives said they too greatly value the Vauxhall brand and the commitment of its workforce, and that any deal would build on these strengths,” he said.
“One of the points the PSA executives made to me was that since the new management of PSA has been in place, they have taken some pride in having part of their strategy not to close plants.”
Clark said the government also recognised the importance of protecting pension benefits for Vauxhall workers.
The scheme had a deficit of £840m at the end of 2014, according to regulatory filings, but analysts estimate that it could now be more than £1bn. John Ralfe, a pensions expert, said: “In relation to the size of the company, that is a big deficit. It’s been a big number for quite a few years.”
PSA would be “rip-roaring bonkers” to take on the pension scheme, he added. “If GM is prepared to keep the pensions liability, then the deal will go ahead. But Peugeot is not going to take on the pension liabilities, that is just inconceivable.”
Ralfe said he was surprised that GM had not reassured Vauxhall workers about their pension benefits.
Union leaders said it was heartening that MPs had spoken in support of Vauxhall workers. Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, said: “These are very anxious days for the thousands of skilled men and women in Vauxhall, and the working-class communities relying on GM’s supply chain for their livelihoods.
“So it was helpful to hear Greg Clark update the Commons on developments. It is absolutely vital that GM and Peugeot understand that the UK government is prepared to move heaven and earth to safeguard our plants.
“I repeat, the UK government must match, if not more, whatever political and financial support that the French and German governments are giving their plants and workers.”
