Just as Vauxhall workers in north-east England are starting to breathe easy about their plant’s (and jobs’) future, European bureaucrats have thrown a spanner in the works.
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According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the European Commission said on Tuesday it had launched an investigation into the $US17m in aid given to General Motors subsidiary Vauxhall by the British government, which was meant to offer training to workers to keep the GM Astra plant near Liverpool viable.
EU officials were reported to have said they were concerned the aid could violate EU state aid rules, adding they had doubts about its legality because the money used would go to training already being carried out by GM.
Neelie Kroes, the EU’s competition commissioner told the Associated Press that while the EU supports training to improve work force skills, “we must make sure that the public funds do not just provide windfall profits to companies who would have paid for the training as part of their normal business.”
AP noted that the investigation comes after GM said last year it would cut 900 jobs at its Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port near Liverpool while the EU said its inquiry focused on a new 2007-2012 training program planned to improve productivity at the plant.
The British government said it would subsidise the training plan to help keep the plant in operation, the report added.
