Sign up to FREE email alerts from Liverpool Echo - Weekly Politics Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Fearful workers at the giant Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port will have to wait until after Brexit to see if their jobs are safe.

The British car industry was shaken this week when Honda confirmed it would close its Swindon plant with the loss of 3,500 jobs.

Car industry experts have long said that Ellesmere Port is vulnerable to closure unless it wins a new model to replace the Astra it currently builds and which is nearing the end of its life.

The plant has already lost hundreds of workers in recent months. After the most recent round of 241 job cuts was announced in November, workers walked out in fury.

The car industry globally is battling to cope with a changing market, including the move away from diesel and the need to move towards electric cars.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

But many carmakers, including Vauxhall and Jaguar Land Rover, are worried about what a “no-deal Brexit” could mean for them.

They depend on being able to ship parts and finished cars across borders and fear that extra customs checks or tariffs will disrupt production.

Union leaders have called on Vauxhall parent PSA, which also owns Peugeot and Citroen, to announce a new model for the plant. They are particularly keen for it to get a four-wheel drive similar to the Evoque, which has been a huge success for Jaguar Land Rover at Halewood.

But today a spokesperson for Vauxhall said: “No decision about the future of Ellesmere Port will be taken until the outcome of Brexit negotiations is known.

“Vauxhall continues to work with all partners to improve the competitiveness of the plant.”

Officials from trade union Unite and the plant’s MP are now demanding that the Government gets a deal with the EU to ensure car companies like Vauxhall can trade freely with the EU after Brexit.

Unite regional officer Mick Chalmers said: “The statement (from Vauxhall) underlines why the government must ensure that when we leave the European Union that frictionless trade is guaranteed in the long-term.

“A failure by the government to do so would be a betrayal to the workers at Ellesmere Port and the entire automotive industry.

“Unite intends to fully engage with the PSA management in their feasibility studies to examine how the plant can become more competitive.

“The UK is a major market for PSA’s vehicles and workers and customers expect that loyalty to be repaid.”

Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders said the UK should stay in a customs union with the EU to protect the country’s car industry.

Mr Madders is meeting plant managers and union officials this week.

He said: “We’ve been through this (closure rumours) many times before.

“I know the management and unions and workforce will do whatever is necessary to put themselves in the best position.

“This is not a new challenge, though it has got a slightly different dimension to it than previous years. But they have always risen to the challenge.

"My role is to help them achieve that, to get as much Government support as possible, and to make sure that when the plant bids for the model it's in a good place.

But he added: “All of that is contingent on getting a deal when we leave the EU that keeps frictionless trade. For me that means we have to be part of a Customs Union.”

Ellesmere Port has had tough time

Hundreds of jobs have been axed at Ellesmere Port in recent months.

In November staff at the plant walked out in anger at news that 241 jobs at the plant were to be axed. At the time Vauxhall insisted the move was “critical” to ensure the plant’s survival, but one worker described the news as “barbaric”.

Unite Unite warned the plant faced “death by a thousand cuts” unless PSA, which bought Vauxhall and Opel in 2017, guaranteed its future. It's been widely reported that PSA is considering making cuts as the global car market remains flat.

Analysts told the ECHO that global sales for mid-range vehicles like the Astra were falling, putting Ellesmere Port in a vulnerable position.

By contrast, Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant, where some 6,000 people work, has seen investment in recent years following the huge global success of the Evoque .

The Evoque is one of a number of “crossover” models, bringing together features from sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and hatchbacks, that are doing well in the global car market.

(Image: James Maloney)

JLR confirmed last year that the new Evoque would be built at Halewood, securing the medium-term future of that plant.

JLR has since announced a global restructuring that will see some jobs go at Halewood. The car giant is facing weakened demand from China and is dealing with uncertainty over Brexit and over the future of diesel cars.

JLR's chief executive Dr Ralf Speth has long warned about Brexit uncertainty. And last month JLR said it would stop production at Halewood for an extra week in April in case of Brexit disruption.

But Halewood’s focus on the SUV sector means it is better placed in the current market than Ellesmere Port with its focus on hatchbacks.

Last year union leaders and analysts said Vauxhall Ellesmere Port needed to start building Evoque-style SUV models in order to survive.

Prof David Bailey, of Aston University in Birmingham, told us: "There's been a big move away from traditional hatchbacks and saloons towards SUVs. I'd like to see them (Vauxhall) bring a range of cars, including crossovers.”