GM Europe’s new head Nick Reilly is scheduled to meet with the UK government’s business secretary and the Unite labour union today to discuss GM Europe’s UK Vauxhall operations.
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Reilly has said that decisions about the future of plants across Europe should be taken by next month.
A meeting with business secretary Lord Mandelson is likely to raise the subject of possible UK government financial support for Vauxhall as GM rides the European recession and seeks to restructure operations.
Unite union leader Tony Woodley will be seeking firm assurances over the future of the UK’s two Vauxhall plants, but is also likely to come under pressure to agree to cost savings.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson yesterday gave a public vote of confidence in Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant, Merseyside, which has just started production of the new Astra model.
“Ellesmere Port is the lead plant building our new Astra. If that’s not a better signal about the future of the plant, I don’t know what is,” he said, speaking at the results conference at which GM posted a loss of USD1.2bn for the third quarter.
Henderson maintains that GM is on course to return to profitability and that restructuring European operations – to take 30% of cost out – is an integral part of that.
