British union leaders are requesting urgent talks with the CEO of PSA Groupe as speculation swirls any new Franco-German alliance could start to take precedence at the expense of future UK commitments.
Earlier this week (14 February), PSA confirmed it was in discussions with GM with a view to possibly buying Vauxhall parent company Opel, but warned there was “no certainty” an acquisition would go ahead.
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However, news of the possible acquisition has spooked British labour bodies, particularly the Unite union, whose general secretary, Len McCluskey, has already met General Motors president, Dan Ammann and UK Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark.
Unite’s nervousness can be detected by its request also to be present whenever GM and PSA meet the French and German governments, with some reports speculating as to the future of Vauxhall jobs in the UK.
“My immediate priority now is to understand where Peugeot is in this process, which is why I am contacting the CEO of the company, Carlos Tavares, to request urgent talks,” said McCluskey.
“Unite is committed to talking to all the concerned parties in the UK, Germany and France to ensure the case for the UK workers is pressed at the highest levels.
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By GlobalData“But I also say this; our government should demand whenever the car makers are meeting with the French and German governments, then the UK government must be at the same table.”
The seriousness with which the British government is taking the issue – as it looks next month to invoke Article 50 to formally begin the process of leaving the European Union – can be gauged by the UK Business Secretary of State flying to Paris last night for talks with his French counterpart and PSA.
“I had constructive meetings in Paris with both my French counterpart, the Industry Minister and executives of PSA Group, in which they explained the rationale behind this potential alliance,” said Clark.
“They stressed they valued highly the enduring strength of the Vauxhall brand, underpinned by its committed workforce. While discussions are still on-going, they made clear to me that in any deal these were strengths they would wish to build on.
“We agreed to remain in close contact during the period ahead.”
There have been some reports any deal could be tied up before the start of the Geneva Motor Show in early March.
Data from just-auto’s QUBE service shows PSA’a new strategy, Push to Pass, aims to:
.Grow revenue by 10% by 2018 and 15% by 2021.
. Launch one new car every year for each of the three brands, with 26 new models in total, including seven plug-in hybrids and four EVs; also included will be a one-tonne pick-up probably sourced from a third-party.
. Achieve this with what the company calls “frugal” R&D expenditure.
. Maintain rigorous control over production and fixed costs.
. Generate an average annual automotive operating margin of 4% between 2016 and 2018, and 6% by 2021
Return to North America within ten years, first with vehicle-sharing technologies and later with an EV made for the Bollore brand; the major brands will return at a later date.
