LONDON (Reuters) – Car maker Stellantis announced plans on Tuesday to close its Vauxhall van factory in Luton, southern England, threatening more than 1,000 jobs.
The group born from the merger between PSA and FCA, and owner of Vauxhall since 2017, wishes to consolidate its British production of light commercial vehicles by creating a center dedicated to electric models on its Ellesmere Port site, near Liverpool, as part of with an investment of 50 million pounds sterling (59.86 million euros), he said in a press release.
“If the company’s proposal is implemented, a comprehensive support plan for affected employees in Luton, including hundreds of jobs to be relocated to the Ellesmere Port manufacturing site, will be made available,” says Stellantis .
The group adds that third-party activities could be considered in the “very dynamic Luton region”, without further details.
“While it is encouraging to see Stellantis investing in the future at its Ellesmere Port site, we know this will be a worrying time for the families of Luton employees who may be affected,” the British government said.
Stellantis did not specify how many jobs would be lost as part of the transfer of operations almost 300 km from Luton.
Last June, Stellantis called on the UK government to do more to support demand for electric vehicles and comply with EV sales targets set by the authorities. The group also warned that in the event of inaction, it could be forced to stop production in the United Kingdom.
(Written by Sachin Ravikumar, Alistair Smout and Catarina Demony, Blandine Hénault and Gilles Guillaume, edited by Augustin Turpin)
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