Government pressured on Ford plan

Union leaders are seeking urgent talks with the US-owned carmaker to warn against any takeover by "asset-stripping" private equity buyers. Labour MP John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington) tabled a Parliamentary motion against the sale of the two marques to a private equity company.

The moves came as leaders of the private equity industry were accused of being evasive after being on the receiving end of an hour-long grilling by MPs on a Commons committee.

Controversy over the effect of private equity-funded takeovers on jobs, pay, pensions and working conditions sparked an investigation by the Treasury Select Committee into the regulation and tax regime of the sector.

Three officials of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) were involved in fierce exchanges with MPs over the tax advantages of private equity executives and the involvement of workers in takeover deals.

Ford briefed MPs on Monday night on the sale and is expected to give more details later this week. The motor manufacturer bought Jaguar in 1989 for £1.6 billion and Land Rover in 2000 for £1.7 billion and the two firms employ about 19,000 workers in the UK.

Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of the Unite trade union, said the Government should step in to protect Land Rover and Jaguar if there is any suggestion they face a takeover by "asset-stripping" private equity buyers.

Mr McDonnell said: "For almost 20,000 staff today's announcement will come as a massive shock. I am calling on the Government to intervene to prevent this sale which could result in huge job losses and the consequent impact on those local communities affected."

Ford is believed to have handed three investment banks a mandate to sell the two businesses as it steps up a group-wide restructuring process aimed at stemming record losses. The company sold Aston Martin earlier this year and there has been increasing speculation about further sell-offs.

Jaguar employs about 10,000 workers in the UK at sites in Coventry, Birmingham and Liverpool, while Land Rover has about 9,000 employees, mainly at Solihull in the West Midlands, Halewood, near Liverpool, and Gaydon in Warwickshire. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the Government is in touch with Ford over the planned sell-off. "We still believe that both Land Rover and Jaguar are highly successful companies and will have a highly successful future," the spokesman said.