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| Administration deadline for LDV | Administration deadline for LDV |
| (about 12 hours later) | |
| Remaining staff at struggling van maker LDV have been sent home, after the firm applied to enter administration. | Remaining staff at struggling van maker LDV have been sent home, after the firm applied to enter administration. |
| About 800 people are employed at its Birmingham factory - though most have not been working, with production halted since December last year. | About 800 people are employed at its Birmingham factory - though most have not been working, with production halted since December last year. |
| Employees have been paid up to the end of last week, it said, but the firm could not confirm any further payments. | Employees have been paid up to the end of last week, it said, but the firm could not confirm any further payments. |
| LDV said it would continue to look for funding until 6 May when it is due to formally go into administration. | LDV said it would continue to look for funding until 6 May when it is due to formally go into administration. |
| There are about 1,200 people employed in dealerships, and LDV estimates that "several thousand" staff are employed by its suppliers. | There are about 1,200 people employed in dealerships, and LDV estimates that "several thousand" staff are employed by its suppliers. |
| The company is still working with a Malaysian investor, Westar, which LDV says wants to keep production in Birmingham. But it is thought unlikely to be able to do a deal before next week's deadline. | The company is still working with a Malaysian investor, Westar, which LDV says wants to keep production in Birmingham. But it is thought unlikely to be able to do a deal before next week's deadline. |
| The leader of the Unite union, Tony Woodley, called on the government to give LDV £4m in emergency aid to stave off the immediate threat of administration and give it time to reach an agreement with Westar. | The leader of the Unite union, Tony Woodley, called on the government to give LDV £4m in emergency aid to stave off the immediate threat of administration and give it time to reach an agreement with Westar. |
| "With so many skilled jobs at risk and with a genuine possibility of a buyer, if this company goes to the wall for the want of a relatively small amount money, then it would be criminal," Mr Woodley said. | "With so many skilled jobs at risk and with a genuine possibility of a buyer, if this company goes to the wall for the want of a relatively small amount money, then it would be criminal," Mr Woodley said. |
| 'Exceptional conditions' | 'Exceptional conditions' |
| The firm has suffered from the broader decline in demand for commercial vehicles in the UK with registration of new LDV vans down by 73% in March from a year previously, according to the SMMT. | The firm has suffered from the broader decline in demand for commercial vehicles in the UK with registration of new LDV vans down by 73% in March from a year previously, according to the SMMT. |
| Anthony Davis, 50, has worked at LDV for 11 years For most of the past five months I've been at home waiting for the call to get us back to work. | Anthony Davis, 50, has worked at LDV for 11 years For most of the past five months I've been at home waiting for the call to get us back to work. |
| I was lucky and had built up some overtime, so was paid in full for the first eight weeks or so, and then have been paid for 19 hours a week, but some of the lads have got nothing. | I was lucky and had built up some overtime, so was paid in full for the first eight weeks or so, and then have been paid for 19 hours a week, but some of the lads have got nothing. |
| I don't think many of us blame the management. It's the government who could help. If they don't then we'll all lose our jobs and that will be dole they'll have to pay us and the suppliers. | I don't think many of us blame the management. It's the government who could help. If they don't then we'll all lose our jobs and that will be dole they'll have to pay us and the suppliers. |
| Compared with the bail-outs the banks are getting, it would not take a lot of money to save us. If not, this area loses another industry and that's going to be devastating. | Compared with the bail-outs the banks are getting, it would not take a lot of money to save us. If not, this area loses another industry and that's going to be devastating. |
| However, it has had long-running problems and has made a loss for the last four years. | However, it has had long-running problems and has made a loss for the last four years. |
| LDV said that it had been relying on the goodwill of suppliers to stay afloat, but that "the actions of a small number of suppliers" had caused the firm's position to reach a point where it had "no alternative" other than to apply for administration. | LDV said that it had been relying on the goodwill of suppliers to stay afloat, but that "the actions of a small number of suppliers" had caused the firm's position to reach a point where it had "no alternative" other than to apply for administration. |
| "During the past few weeks, the global economic crisis has forced us to operate in exceptional conditions and we cannot continue in this position without funding indefinitely," chief executive Evgeniy Vereshchagin said in a letter to staff. | "During the past few weeks, the global economic crisis has forced us to operate in exceptional conditions and we cannot continue in this position without funding indefinitely," chief executive Evgeniy Vereshchagin said in a letter to staff. |
| 'Worrying development' | 'Worrying development' |
| Plans for the future of the business have included a management buy-out, with proposals to begin making electric vans from the end of the year. | Plans for the future of the business have included a management buy-out, with proposals to begin making electric vans from the end of the year. |
| The firm has held talks with UK government ministers over possible government support for the buy-out, and a bridging loan enable it to secure funding from the European Investment Bank. | The firm has held talks with UK government ministers over possible government support for the buy-out, and a bridging loan enable it to secure funding from the European Investment Bank. |
| LDV TIMELINE November 15: Announces 10% cut in workforce and implements extended holiday January: Applies for support with the European Investment Bank under its package for green vehicle industryJanuary 14: LDV announces it is to extend Christmas break further and requests dialogue with governmentJanuary-March: Discussions with UK government about support for management buyoutMarch: Buy-out plans presented to staff who vote to accept 10% pay cut in support of itMarch 31: Foreign investor meets UK government, which maintains that LDV owner Gaz or a foreign investor must support the company. April 28: LDV applies to enter administration | LDV TIMELINE November 15: Announces 10% cut in workforce and implements extended holiday January: Applies for support with the European Investment Bank under its package for green vehicle industryJanuary 14: LDV announces it is to extend Christmas break further and requests dialogue with governmentJanuary-March: Discussions with UK government about support for management buyoutMarch: Buy-out plans presented to staff who vote to accept 10% pay cut in support of itMarch 31: Foreign investor meets UK government, which maintains that LDV owner Gaz or a foreign investor must support the company. April 28: LDV applies to enter administration |
| Asked about the situation in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We have tried to be of help to them." | Asked about the situation in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We have tried to be of help to them." |
| "We have said that there is a range of government support available if they have a business model for moving forward that we can work with and be able to support." | "We have said that there is a range of government support available if they have a business model for moving forward that we can work with and be able to support." |
| But he reiterated that the responsibility for ensuring the firm was on a sound financial footing lay with its Russian owner Gaz and potential investors. | But he reiterated that the responsibility for ensuring the firm was on a sound financial footing lay with its Russian owner Gaz and potential investors. |
| Last month, Erik Eberhardson, the chairman of LDV's Russian owner Gaz, said he believed that LDV could be saved and that a management buyout was the best option. | Last month, Erik Eberhardson, the chairman of LDV's Russian owner Gaz, said he believed that LDV could be saved and that a management buyout was the best option. |
| The cancellation of the 2010 British International motor show and a record drop in UK car production are the latest signs of trouble for a sector that has experienced tough times for months. | The cancellation of the 2010 British International motor show and a record drop in UK car production are the latest signs of trouble for a sector that has experienced tough times for months. |
| We asked you for your views. Below are a selection of your comments. | |
| Another sad demise for the British car industry. Maybe if the Government had given incentives to British firms to use British produced vehicles even the likes of Rover would still be around. Think how many Royal Mail vans on the roads. If more of them were LDVs maybe the administrators wouldn't have got the call.Gavin | |
| We as a work force feel let down by our government and local council it has stunned us that we have been left out to dry we have been treated worst than animals over the last few months and ignored by the government most of us are now in debt for the 1st times in our working lives and after working for more than 34yrs and paying into the system have been told no help here all i can now think and say is thanks mr brown you shown your true colours as a labour voter of many years i now see the true picture of the party i have supported and i hope no other worker in our country have to rely in the government to help them and endure the treatment we have had to endured......A.Davis, Birmingham | |
| Not a penny of tax payers' money should go into this. People are still buying vans. Just not LDV vans. Which suggests people don't want LDV vans. So my money should not be used to prop up a company that has not listened to its customers and finds itself in the position it is now in.Al Muir, Glasgow | |
| I was brought up within the shadows of the LDV plant and the lack of government backing is an insult to the decent people who work there. If they were building a useless product then fair enough, let it close. But the lack of orders are temporary, as white van man will not be buying a new van until the construction industry recovers. LDV are also in advanced stages of building an electric van, surely with the government supposedly investing in green industries this is a perfect investment opportunity? Unfortunately this government 'green' plans for recovery simply involve providing free loft insulation for people on the dole.Lee, Birmingham | |
| The above is misleading - the point should be made that only a handful of essential workers have been in work, to help generate income and these are the ones paid up to last week and have been sent home today. The main workforce has been laid off (myself since November 2008) and is struggling to survive on less than £60.00 per week.Thomas Perkins Jnr, Tamworth | |
| It would be a sad day for the UK if yet one more manufacturer goes to the wall. Yes LDV may be Russian owned, but are not Jaguar and Land Rover both Indian owned?, and this does not seem to have been a problem for Govt funding. A lot of real jobs are at stake, maybe if LDV were a bank.........David Scott, Lincoln | |
| Though I am saddened by the impending closure of LDV, I was made redundant from Leyland Daf in 1994 when they went into administration. It strikes me that not a lot has happened in those last 15 years. The plant was always very antiquated with massive investment needed. They have stumbled along and this current news does come as a surprise. Re the development of EV vans they are too slow in developing this technology. They should have been forward thinking and ahead of people like Tanfield and Modec but instead they have missed the boat ..... again.Andy Cummings, Solihull | |
| If LDV is allowed to slip away this will be a further nail in the coffin of manufacturing in the Midlands. It was the birthplace of the Industrial revolution, but is fast becoming the death bed of manufacturing in the UK.Kevin Bradley, West Bromwich, England | |
| If only about 4% of the population of Britain donated a quid we could keep this company afloat. I'd chip in. In fact, despite my LDV currently being undrivable following a quite spectacular an MOT failure, Id give a fiver. And I'm unemployed. Who should I send it too?Abe Cambridge, Falmouth | |
| The problem with all of this is that a cash injection will not save LDV. The product range is not good enough to compete in a tough market and it would need a major investment for R&D to give it a long term future. It has been sinking for years but just kept afloat by nostalgia. Let it sink and move on, it's another Rover.Paul Bumford, St Helens |