‘DIFFICULT TIMES AHEAD’ – GM Works Council leader fears for Luton plant

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Negotiations over the future of GM sites in Luton and Antwerp would be ‘a hard nut’ to crack, Opel Works Council chief Klaus Franz has warned.

He added after a meeting with Magna bosses on Wednesday that he feared for the future of plants in Luton, UK, in Antwerp, Belgium and in Bochum, Germany.

GM Luton in the UK employs 1,500 staff.

Luton is considered particularly at risk because it produces vans, a market which Renault says has collapsed, leading to the demise of the LDV van maker in Birmingham.

Franz’s concerns came as new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that the UK government’s scrappage scheme, designed to stimulate the UK car market, has so far had a limited effect.

SMMT figures released yesterday, show new car sales were 24.8 per cent down in May, following April’s 24 per cent fall.

UK trade union leaders, Simpson and Woodley of Unite – who have refused to call any action to defend jobs at Luton or Vauxhall, Ellesmere Port – were silent yesterday.

In Germany, Franz said he was standing by demands that Russian-backed Magna avoids plant closures and limits job cuts.

Speaking after meeting Siegfried Wolf, the co-chief executive of Magna on Wednesday, Franz said: ‘I am very happy that we have managed to save Opel and that the company will not be dragged down by the insolvency of GM.

‘But difficult times are still ahead of us,’ he added, saying ‘Germany is not a land of milk and honey; that means there will be job losses.’

Referring to Magna’s pledge not to close German plants, Franz concluded: ‘The most important thing is that the social dimension is being taken into account and that there will be no factory closures.’

His remarks followed those of Belgian FGBT union official Rudi Kennes at Opel’s Antwerp plant.

He said that while the officials from Magna had struck him as ‘very professional’, he still expected ‘long and tough negotiations’ in the coming weeks.

Magna has indicated that up to 10,000 jobs will be lost, including 2,500 in Germany.

Magna co-chief executive Wolf expects to close the deal with GM by September.

He said after meeting Opel workers in the car maker’s Ruesselsheim headquarters on Wednesday: ‘We think that we will be finished in the next four, five weeks and then there’s the final signing.

‘After the signing, all approvals have to be given, and I think that we can expect a closing in September, end-September.’

Many details still have to be worked out between Magna and GM, such as whether Opel cars could be sold globally in five years’ time.