Vauxhall is planning to offer voluntary redundancy to all its employees in a bid to soften the blow caused by its decision to cease car production at Luton.
Product affairs manager Stuart Harris told Personnel Today that the scheme would spread the impact of the closure of the Luton car plant across the company.
He said Vauxhall also planned to move between 500 and 1,000 workers from the Luton car plant to the neighbouring ISC site, which will continue to produce the Frontera off-road vehicle and the Vivaro van.
The TUC said the decision, announced yesterday in a shock statement by Vauxhall chairman Nick Reilly, would axe more than 2,000 jobs – a figure which Harris did not dispute. But he added, “The final figure is not going to be known for a few months yet.”
Vauxhall blamed “rapidly changing market conditions” in Europe for the disappointing sales of the Vectra.
TUC spokesman Martin Gould said, “A multi-national company has taken a major decision that will impact on thousands of workers, but trade unions have had no opportunity to discuss it.”
By Richard Staines
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