Unions fear for Vauxhall workers

Vauxhall's Astra is one of Britain's best selling cars

Unions representing staff at Vauxhall's car plant in Ellesmere Port are seeking reassurance from parent company General Motors (GM) about the plant's future.

Press reports suggest that GM could cut production of the Astra model and shed a third of the factory's 3,000 jobs.

On Monday, the carmaker said it was reviewing production capacity across its three Astra plants in Europe as it expects demand for the car to decline.

UK unions want any job cuts to be shared across all the factories.

"It doesn't make sense that jobs are under threat at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port," said Amicus officer Tony Murphy.

"The Astra was Britain's number one best selling new car last month and sold 25,171 cars, a massive 3,072 more than Ford, due to the hard work and commitment of its workers."

Union bosses met with GM Europe in London last week, and Amicus said it was meeting the company again on Tuesday in Germany.

GM Europe is seeking to cut 12,000 jobs as part of its restructuring and cost-cutting plans.

Last month, French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen announced it was closing its Ryton plant near Coventry with the loss of 2,300 jobs.