Four-day week at Vauxhall in efficiency drive

WORKERS at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port car plant will be working for four days a week instead of five, as part of a programme to make the facility more competitive.

The move – which will see the business save several million pounds in utility costs over the next few years – is not related to the recent week-long closure sparked by reduced demand in Europe.

In a statement Vauxhall said staff had voted “overwhelmingly” for the move, which it said would  “further enhance long term competitiveness” at the factory which makes the Astra model.

“The agreement condenses the 38 hour week into 4 days instead of 5 thereby realising significant utilities savings whilst retaining overall working hours and production volumes.

“In the process, this innovative working arrangement also provides engineering with an additional day each week to install the tooling for the next generation Astra, which goes into production in 2015.”