Mandelson battles for Vauxhall jobs
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said he will be seeking swift confirmation from Magna, the likely saviour of GM Europe, that no Vauxhall jobs in the UK will be lost in a deal to keep the car company afloat.
As talks on a deal continued in Berlin, Lord Mandelson said he understood a shared ownership deal would be reached between Vauxhall owner GM and Magna, a Canadian car parts manufacturer.
Vauxhall employs 5,500 UK workers at plants in Luton, Bedfordshire, and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
The deal came closer after the other possible buyer, Fiat, dropped out of the bidding, citing "unreasonable risks" in the possible agreement on offer.
Lord Mandelson said an initial memorandum of understanding had now been signed between GM and Magna.
"I will, of course, look forward to a very early meeting with Magna," he said.
"I will be seeking from them reinforcement of the commitment they gave to me last week to continued production by Vauxhall here in the UK."
Lord Mandelson added: "They made clear to me that they are committed to continued production by Vauxhall in the UK. I take that at face value."
He indicated that both British and German governments thought it would have been "better" if GM in the USA had "continued a bit of competition for ownership and kept more players in this race", rather than deciding on Magna so quickly.
