15/10/2009
Car parts firm saves 5500 jobs
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A deal to secure the future of Vauxhall's two UK plants has been agreed with the car giant's new owner, in return for cost savings including a two-year pay freeze, it has been announced. Unite said the agreement with Canadian car parts firm Magna removed the uncertainty surrounding the factories in Ellesmere Port and Luton, which employ around 5,500 workers. Both plants will be given job security and a future through to 2013, providing a good basis for a long-term future beyond that, said the union's joint leader, Tony Woodley. Up to 600 jobs could be cut through voluntary redundancy, but unions had originally feared that at least 1,200 jobs would be axed. Unite said that, under the deal, Ellesmere Port will produce the next generation Astra, set for 2016, subject to maintaining its competitive position. The Luton van plant will be maintained as a key site within Magna's UK portfolio, and the Canadian firm will seek "any other possibility on product" for the plant. There will be no compulsory redundancies at either UK plant. In return, the workforce will contribute through cost-saving and efficiency measures, including a two-year pay freeze - although weekly working hours will rise, helping to bridge the earnings gap. Mr Woodley said: "This agreement removes the uncertainty surrounding our plants and our people's jobs. It gives both plants job security and a future through to 2013, providing a good basis for a long-term future beyond that. Production at Ellesmere Port will grow significantly from the level originally proposed to nearly 148,000 units, with full capacity over two shifts, and there is agreement that Luton will remain a key manufacturing site. Some 600 jobs that would otherwise have been lost will be preserved, but equally as important, Magna has agreed to no enforced redundancies."
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