MPs assured Vauxhall sale will not threaten British jobs

MINISTERS were last night confident that 4,500 manufacturing jobs and pensions were safe ahead of a deal to sell Vauxhall to a French firm.

The board of PSA Group, which owns Peugeot and Citroen, is understood to have agreed the purchase of the Vauxhall and Opel marques from General Motors and the firms are expected to make an announcement tomorrow. Government sources and union lead- ers said no immediate closure of Vauxhall’s plants in Luton or Ellesmere Port is expected. But there are concerns for jobs and pensions once existing contracts start to expire in 2021.

If there is no free-trade deal after Brexit, export tariffs are expected to be higher, leading to an increase in the price of products. “Here in the UK and across the continent, firms are worried about this ‘worst-case scenario’,” Paul Drechsler, president of the CBI, said this week. However, government sources last night said ministers have been seeking assurances over the jobs for weeks amid rumours a deal is close.

Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, has held talks with executives at GM and PSA Group, which is part-owned by the French state, about the deal.

Theresa May has also raised the matter with French prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Carlos Tavares, the CEO of PSA Group, in recent weeks. The Vauxhall Astra is manufactured at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire in a contract which expires in 2021. Engines and the Vivaro van will be made in Luton until 2024.

A senior government source said: “We have had assurances that Vauxhall is planning on continuing its operations in the UK and is committed to the plants. We continue to engage with them.” PSA declined to comment.