GM deal 'could threaten UK jobs'

After late-night talks in Berlin, Vauxhall - part of Britain's manufacturing history for more than 120 years - looks destined for a Canadian takeover after the German government chose car parts firm Magna to be the vehicle maker's new parent company.

Germany's finance minister said Magna's rescue plan for the European arm of stricken US car giant General Motors, which owns Vauxhall and Opel, had been approved.

But with Germany taking a lead in the negotiations - about half of GM Europe's 50,000 workers are employed there - concerns were expressed that jobs at Vauxhall's sites in Luton, Bedfordshire, and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, will be sacrificed under the new regime.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said he would seek swift confirmation from Magna that people employed at Luton and Ellesmere Port would remain in work. But he also warned that any Magna deal would "involve change" and that there was "excess capacity" at Vauxhall.

Derek Simpson, general secretary of the Unite union, said he feared German plants would be saved rather than UK factories.

He told BBC News: "I'm not entirely certain where it leaves Vauxhall. If there is overcapacity in Europe and Magna and the people associated appear to be making very strong commitments, not just to Opel but particularly to the German plants, doubtlessly based on the support of the German government, it makes you wonder where the cut in capacity will come."

Speaking at the Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port, Unite general secretary Tony Woodley said: "The deal will be the very best deal for Germany and for German workers and plants and it won't be the worst deal for Britain because the worst deal would have been going into administration and not knowing what's coming out at the end."

The impact of a closure of GM Manufacturing Luton, which employs around 1,400 workers on its production of Vivaro and Renault Trafic vans, is "unthinkable", said Labour Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins.

"It's vital for the town but I think it's also vital for Britain," he said. "Our manufacturing base is too small. This is a first-class plant making a brilliant vehicle. We need to preserve this plant as part of Britain's manufacturing base for the long-term future."