Up to 60 per cent of the job losses for Opel/Vauxhall, GM’s European arm, will be in Germany with the future of the Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium, remaining uncertain.The announcement by the US car giant’s acting European head Nick Reilly is slightly fewer job losses than the 10,000 originally thought.
But it has not yet been revealed how many jobs will be lost among the 5,000 workers at Vauxhall’s two plants in Britain – at Ellesmere Port and Luton.
“We have to create a sustainable and viable business plan. The competition is intense and getting fiercer every day. We have to reduce structural costs,” Mr Reilly said.
“I think we have to fight hard to keep manufacturing operations viable in Europe. There will be difficult decisions to take and we will have to reduce people. It’s the reality of today’s market.
“We do expect some contributions from employees and funding help from governments.