Vauxhall workers await bid decision
Thousands of workers at Vauxhall are braced for an announcement that could decide the carmaker's new owner.
The German government is due to name its preferred bidder for the European arm of the beleaguered US giant General Motors (GM), which makes both Vauxhall and Opel vehicles.
Any deal will have an impact on staff at Vauxhall's UK factories in Luton, Bedfordshire, and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, which employ a combined total of around 5,000 people.
Italian carmaker Fiat, Canadian car parts maker Magna and US investment firm Ripplewood Holdings have filed bids for GM's European division.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson acknowledged on Wednesday that UK jobs could be lost as part of the restructuring.
He has held talks with the main bidders about their commitment to continued production in the UK and has offered to consider "financial underwriting" of any new arrangements.
But Lord Mandelson acknowledged that the GM Europe workforce as a whole could be reduced in future as part of a "consolidation" of the firm's production capacity.
There are fears the German government could give in to election-year pressure with a pledge to protect domestic jobs at the expense of those in the UK.
Berlin's opinion is important as it is being asked to make billions of euros worth of loan guarantees as part of any deal. Opel also has its headquarters in Germany, where half of the firm's 25,000 workers are based.
Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, said the UK government was "not doing enough" to help the 5,000 Vauxhall workers.
