Peugeot-Fiat tie-up sparks fears over 5,600 UK jobs: £38bn mega-merger to make fresh automotive huge

Automobile bosses had been entreated to offer ‘watertight assurances’ over the diagram forward for five,600 workers within the UK following the £38billion mega-merger between PSA Community and Fiat Chrysler. The French owner of Peugeot and Vauxhall is situation to affix forces with Italian rival Fiat to make the realm’s third-perfect automotive manufacturer by income, and the fourth-perfect by series of autos provided. But the deal has sparked fears over the diagram forward for hundreds of jobs, alongside side at the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, the save 1,100 workers originate the Astra. PSA Community is situation to affix forces with Italian rival Fiat to make the realm’s third-perfect automotive manufacturer by income, and the fourth-perfect by series of autos provided Bosses the day gone by acknowledged no vegetation would perchance be shut as a outcomes of the deal, which is ready to permit the two companies to fragment the massive cost of switching to electric and, in a roundabout diagram, self-using autos. But union chiefs at Unite are in search of an urgent meeting with executives to form ‘watertight guarantees’ on the long-length of time diagram forward for Vauxhall’s UK workers.  Unite national officer Des Quinn acknowledged: ‘It would perchance be fundamental that this form of meeting happens as quickly as potential, to alleviate the pure and satisfactory concerns of the team.’ The fresh neighborhood would perchance be led by PSA’s cost-reducing chief govt Carlos Tavares, with Fiat Chrysler’s John Elkann changing into chairman. Tavares acknowledged the fresh behemoth would perchance be greater equipped to compose ‘tremendous, good and inexpensive’ autos of the future. The merger will also combine PSA’s strong presence in Europe and Fiat’s in North The US and Latin The US. The company, whose name has no longer been decided but, will salvage mixed annual gross sales of 8.7m autos, that suggests this will lunge within the aid of handiest Volkswagen, Toyota and the Nissan-Renault alliance. Jobs fears: A Vauxhall employee engaged on the manufacturing line at the corporate’s Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, England But the tie-up has fuelled fears over the diagram forward for Ellesmere Port, which has long confronted closure. It has also cast a shadow over the diagram forward for PSA’s 5,600 workers within the UK, alongside side 3,300 Vauxhall workers, mainly split between Ellesmere Port and the Luton plant, which makes the Vivaro van. Peugeot, Citroen and the Citroen effect DS exercise one other 2,300. PSA Community and Fiat stutter there would perchance be no plant closures and no job losses. They mutter they’ll effect no longer lower than £3.1billion a year by sharing technology, vegetation, advertising and marketing and marketing, and IT. But one knowledgeable raised doubts about these assurances. ‘Both the French and Italian governments would perchance be involved to catch capacity in their international locations, and that will maybe fade away UK vegetation at risk of the axe.’ PSA Community has mooted plans to originate the following Astra at Ellesmere. But Tavares has previously acknowledged he would pull the plug on it if tariffs and customs tests render it unprofitable.  Justin Madders, the Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, acknowledged question marks cling over Brexit and the factitious deal to be struck with Brussels. He acknowledged: ‘Vauxhall is the best UK automotive manufacturer within the neighborhood, so we are in an spectacular save of dwelling to narrate: ‘Vauxhall is an iconic British effect and whenever you happen to treasure to salvage to proceed to substitute you’ll want to a UK nefarious for your autos.’

‘The most crucial’s getting the Government to compose a dedication that no matter future buying and selling relationship we salvage with the EU there would perchance be no antagonistic impact on UK automotive manufacturing.’