GM silent on Ellesmere Port’s long-term prospects

GENERAL Motors bosses have refused to guarantee the long-term future of Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant, beyond 2014, it emerged today.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has meanwhile ruled out offering any financial incentives to GM – which is looking to address over-capacity in its loss-making European business.

Vauxhall employs more than 2,100 staff at Ellesmere Port, where the Astra Sports Tourer is produced.

Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show GM’s vice chairman, Steve Girsky, said the group would honour  a labour agreement that spares its European plants from closure before 2014.

Asked to comment on the Cheshire-based plant’s long-term prospects, he told reporters: “Ellesmere Port has been a good plant for us in the past. They produce good product … We produce vehicles in a lot of different parts of the world. We understand we have too much capacity. We have to understand the best ways of producing product for our customers.”

Commenting on Mr Cable’s meeting with him and CEO Dan Akerson in New York last week, he said: “”We chatted about the economic situation in Europe, we chatted about the UK, the competitiveness of the UK industry … it was very constructive.”

He told The Guardian said car makers had to adapt to a “new reality” for a European market that will sell 12m cars this year compared with more than 14m before the credit crunch. “We need to develop a new plan, which is being developed as we speak, for the new economic reality in Europe.”

Mr Cable, who was celebrating Nissan’s commitment to creating jobs in the North East, was quizzed on Ellesmere Port’s prospects, and said: “There is no value in my guessing. It is not my decision. The UK has a very, very good case and we have made a strong pitch to them.”

He aid the government was not offering financial support to keep Ellesmere Port open and that GM have “got to make a commercial decision.”