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| Concerns grow over Vauxhall jobs | Concerns grow over Vauxhall jobs |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Concerns about the future of Vauxhall's two UK plants are growing after talks broke down in Germany over which firm will buy its parent company, GM Europe. | |
| Two of the bidders have said they will cut thousands of jobs in Europe. | |
| With the German government a key player in negotiations, there are fears that Vauxhall jobs could be hit hardest. | |
| But UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said he had received "categorical assurances" about continued Vauxhall production. | |
| Vauxhall employs 5,500 UK workers and has plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port. | Vauxhall employs 5,500 UK workers and has plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port. |
| Unions are calling on the UK government to do more to safeguard UK jobs. | Unions are calling on the UK government to do more to safeguard UK jobs. |
| Professor David Bailey, a car expert at Coventry University Business School, said that, taking into account suppliers as well as Vauxhall itself, the total number of jobs that could be affected by the takeover is between 15,000 and 20,000. | |
| Government loans | Government loans |
| Earlier on Thursday, talks in Germany about who should buy GM's European unit - which contains Opel and Vauxhall - ended without reaching a decision. | |
| But German ministers said that one of the potential bidders had pulled out, leaving Fiat and Canada's Magna as the two remaining suitors. | But German ministers said that one of the potential bidders had pulled out, leaving Fiat and Canada's Magna as the two remaining suitors. |
| The German government has pledged billions of euros in loan guarantees to the company that takes over GM Europe. | The German government has pledged billions of euros in loan guarantees to the company that takes over GM Europe. |
| Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of the Unite union, said that the UK government needed to be "batting for Britain". | Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of the Unite union, said that the UK government needed to be "batting for Britain". |
| "Whoever takes over, there will be plant closures, but [the UK government] is not putting money in and is not at the negotiating table," he said. | "Whoever takes over, there will be plant closures, but [the UK government] is not putting money in and is not at the negotiating table," he said. |
| "If we are not... common sense tells you the axe will fall outside Germany, outside Spain and outside Belgium. The government has got to do more." | "If we are not... common sense tells you the axe will fall outside Germany, outside Spain and outside Belgium. The government has got to do more." |
| UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said that he is working "very hard" on the issue of Vauxhall's future, and had received reassurances from the main bidders for GM Europe over their commitment to UK jobs. | UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said that he is working "very hard" on the issue of Vauxhall's future, and had received reassurances from the main bidders for GM Europe over their commitment to UK jobs. |
| Lord Mandelson has also said that the UK government is considering giving financial support to the eventual buyer. | Lord Mandelson has also said that the UK government is considering giving financial support to the eventual buyer. |
| 'Too slow' | |
| However, Professor Bailey said the UK government was being "extremely vague" and had been "caught on the hop". | |
| It had, he said, been "far too slow and far too reactive". | |
| The Luton plant, which employs 1,200 people, produces vans and is operated as a joint venture with Renault under a contract which expires in 2012. | |
| Van production has halved since the onset of the economic downturn. | |
| At the Ellesmere Port plant, which employs 2,000 people, a new version of the Astra car is due to roll off the production lines this autumn, supported by a government grant of £8m for training. | |
| Italian carmaker Fiat, which is one of the front runners in the bidding war for GM Europe, has said that it will cut 10,000 jobs across Europe. |