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Vauxhall to halt work in Cheshire and Luton

Falls in demand for new cars have forced Vauxhall to close both of its UK factories, based in Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and Luton.

The decision was made by the car manufacturer’s parent company General Motors, after being hit by the ongoing economic crisis in Europe.

Production will halt in the Bedford plant as well, which is the sister factory to the Ellesmere Port site.

Vauxhall’s Cheshire factory escaped closure earlier in 2012 after GM agreed to flexible working hours that increased available shifts and enabled accelerated car production.

A “down week” is set for 24th September to deal with over production of cars, while car manufacturers across Europe are taking similar steps to force workers to take additional holiday, although employees will be paid as usual.

This announcement came despite plans outlined in May that the Ellesmere Port site would be manufacturing the next generation Astra after a reported £125m investment from the company.

A statement from Vauxhall said: “ Following the downturn in mainland Europe, Vauxhall manufacturing operations in Ellesmere Port and in Luton are implementing a down week … to avoid building up stock by balancing inventory with customer orders.

“In addition, new robots will be installed during the down week in September at the Luton Van Plant which is gearing up for the next generation Vivaro, due to start production in 2014. Assembly of the next generation Astra at Ellesmere Port is scheduled to start production in 2015.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .