Vauxhall jobs safe for now

PSA boss will honour current contracts

THE boss of Peugeot has tried to allay fears that a takeover will lead to the closure of Vauxhall plants – for now.

Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Peugeot and Citroen owner PSA, met Business Secretary Greg Clark and Unite general secretary Len McCluskey yesterday, with a deal to buy General Motors’ loss-making European arm thought to be close.

Clark said: “I was assured that the commitments to the plants would be honoured. There was also recognition that members of the Vauxhall pension fund will be no worse off.”

There have been concerns about what will happen to Vauxhall’s 15,000-member pension fund, which has an estimated £1billion shortfall.

McCluskey said he had been given assurances that Vauxhall’s factories at Ellesmere Port and Luton will see out their existing production runs. Ellesmere Port has agreements in place to build the Vauxhall Astra until 2021, while the Luton plant is under contract to manufacture the Vauxhall Vivaro van until 2025.

Speaking after the meeting, McCluskey said Tavares had been “very pro-union” and talked about “not being here to shut plants”.

He added: “The discussions I have had with Carlos Tavares have been very open and relatively positive.” However, McCluskey said the PSA boss had raised the issue of uncertainty about Britain’s future outside the European Union.

The meeting came a day after Tavares said the deal could result in “speedy” cost savings, raising concerns about job losses at Vauxhall.