Union reaches deal with Magna on the future of Vauxhall’s 5,000 jobs in UK
JOB fears at the UK’s Vauxhall plants were eased yesterday, after Unite union said it had made a deal with the car brand’s new owner, Magna.
The union said 600 jobs would go in the UK – far fewer than the 1,200 initially anticipated – and all through voluntary redundancies.
Vauxhall, which trades as Opel throughout Europe and has just been sold by US giant General Motors (GM) to Magna, employs 5,000 people in the UK.
Magna refused to confirm the details given by the union, but put out a short statement welcoming the deal
“We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Unite on the Vauxhall plants,” it said. “The Vauxhall brand is integral to our business plan and Magna has always stated that it is committed to the UK plants,” the group added.
But business secretary Lord Mandelson said the financing of the deal still had “some way to go”, but was a “much better deal than had been offered in the first place”.
Lord Mandelson also said the government was seeking assurances on the security of the hundreds of millions it was putting into the deal in the way of guarantees.
The deal “gives both plants job security and a future through to 2013, providing a good basis for a long-term future beyond that”, Unite said.