Union Says GM to Cut 430 British Jobs

LONDON October 18, 2004; The AP reported that General Motors Corp. plans to cut about 430 jobs at its British Vauxhall operation as part of sweeping cutbacks around Europe, a union official said Monday. Such a cut would represent about 5.7 percent of the operation's work force.

GM announced last week that it expects to shed 12,000 jobs in Europe by the end of 2006 -- most in Germany -- to cut about $620 million in costs annually at its money-losing Opel, Vauxhall and Saab operations.

Transport and General Workers Union national officer Dave Osborne said 340 jobs were being axed at a Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port, near Liverpool in northern England, and 94 more at a GM van factory in Luton, outside London. He said the jobs were being cut over the next two years.

David Crundwell, a spokesman for GM in Britain, declined to comment on the union's claim or whether the company would cut any of its 7,500 jobs in the country.

"We have been talking to our unions, the situation in the U.K. is such that clearly we need to look at how we do business as they are around Europe," he said.

"We're going to work with the unions and the work force to see if we can make some improvements in our business. ... We need to address the wider issues of profitability and efficiency."

GM says it must reduce overhead to cope with sluggish consumer demand and increased competition from Japanese and other European carmakers.

In Germany, GM workers have reacted furiously to last week's announcement, and at one plant they have been off the job for five days in protest.