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5,000 jobs to go
By This is London Last updated at 00:00am on 15.04.05
Blair is heading to the Rover plant
Around 5,000 workers at MG Rover are to be made redundant following the devastating collapse of talks to secure a rescue deal, it was announced today.
Administrators appointed to run the company said letters would be posted tomorrow to workers at the huge Longbridge plant in Birmingham setting out redundancy arrangements.
Special workshops will be set up on Monday to help 1,000 workers every day in a bid to offer support to those about to lose their jobs.
PricewaterhouseCoopers said more than 70 expressions of interest had been made from firms interested in parts of MG Rover, but none had been prepared to to put forward funding.
The Longbridge plant will now be mothballed, it was announced.
Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown arrived by train at Birmingham's New Street Station at 3.20pm after cancelling General Election campaigning following the Longbridge announcement.
They had a police escort through the crowds of commuters to a waiting convoy of cars, which whisked them off to a meeting with local regeneration officials.
The two are expected after that meeting to make a statement outlining the shape of the support package to be provided by the Government. It is expected to take the shape of money both to reskill and retrain redundant workers and to provide local agencies with additional funds to try to create new jobs in the region.
