Unite on General Motors' intention to retain ownership of Vauxhall
and Opel
4th November 2009
Unite has welcomed last night's announcement from General Motors
that it intends to hold on to its European Opel and Vauxhall
operations.
Unite joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, said: "This is an
incredible turnaround from General Motors. I am absolutely
delighted with this news. It is fantastic news for the UK and right
that General Motors does not break up its family and instead
retains ownership of Vauxhall.
"The problems for General Motors were rooted in the US, not in
the UK where our plants restructured themselves years ago, becoming
the best and most efficient in Europe.
"In terms of securing the best future for Britain's plants, we
want Vauxhall to be part of a giant global company, one which is
now successfully restructuring thanks to Obama's
intervention. Far better to remain within the experienced
General Motors group than be spun off to Magna which simply does
not have the expertise to run a global car company.
"So negotiations start again. Of course, restructuring will
still be needed, but this is a business which supports well over
20,000 jobs and 400 component companies in this country.
"Our expectation then, is that General Motors will be sticking
to its original plan for its EU sites, including the UK, and that
this has not altered.
"We expect that all the governments of Europe, including our
own, will now be asked to contribute to maintaining the business.
This is a massively significant development and a far better deal
for Britain. We expect our government to do all it can to support
it."
ENDS
For further information please contact Pauline Doyle on 07976
832 861
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