General Motors to unveil Ellesmere Port investment plans

US automotive giant General Motors is set to reveal major investment plans at its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, which will secure the future for more than 2,000 Vauxhall staff.

After months of speculation about possible closure of the plant, Duncan Aldred, chairman and managing director,  Vauxhall Motors, announced the good news at a press conference this morning.

Securing the next generation of the Astra model will secure the plant’s medium-term future from 2015 onwards. It is expected that production will be ramped up from two shifts to three shifts in  2014, meaning as many as 800 new jobs will be created too.

The Government has been lobbying hard for GM – which is looking to cut losses in its European business – not to axe the sprawling Ellesmere Port site – which celebrates its 50th year of production this year.

Government and union officials have argued that the plant is among the most efficient in Europe, and its workforce the most flexible.

In order to secure the new-generation model Astra, staff have been balloted on accepting new terms and conditions, which was accepted by 94%.

It is thought the Government has given General Motors bosses assurances that it will invest in the automotive supply chain – as the company currently has to import many of the components for final assembly.

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