The UK government is prepared to discuss with Magna International support for Opel’s Vauxhall unit by providing funding for green car technology, business secretary Peter Mandelson told reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
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Representatives of Magna are due in the UK this week for discussions with Vauxhall union leaders and the government.
Unions fear that at least 1,000 UK jobs – about a fifth of the workforce – could be lost in a Magna takeover and the Luton van assembly plant [a joint venture with Renault] shut completely when its current contracts end in 2012.
“I hope he [Magna’s co-CEO Siegfried Wolf] will have good discussions with union leaders,” Mandelson said.
“They’re looking for hard information and strong assurance of the future viability of Vauxhall’s plants. We’ve given support in the past to Vauxhall for development of their green car and I’m prepared to consider that further.”
Mandelson is in Japan to promote business and economic ties between the two countries.
Speaking after meeting Nissan senior vice president Andy Palmer, Mandelson said he also hoped that Japan’s third largest automaker would consider Britain for the assembly of its zero-emission electric cars, due to be built in Europe from 2012.
