Speaking to the Financial Times on a visit to Seoul, Lord Mandelson said the
UK government could not “sign off” on the current form of the deal. He said
external consultants hired to provide a due diligence report had identified
“shortcomings” in Magna’s plan.
“Those need to be addressed. If there are not to be negative consequences for
Vauxhall, the plan needs to be redressed in certain ways,” said Lord
Mandelson.
In explaining Britain’s role in “signing off” on the deal, Lord Mandelson said
an impact plan should be agreed before talks begin on how much Britain will
contribute to the €4.5bn ($3.1bn) of loan guarantees needed to restructure
Opel.
The deal’s main point of contention is distribution of production among
European car plants, and the consequent job losses.
While Germany is due to supply most of the loan guarantees, the British
government is expected to supply €400m in guarantees. Before giving the
green light, however, Britain wants assurances on the fate of Vauxhall’s two
UK plants, in Luton and Ellesmere Port, which employ about 5,000 workers
between them.
The UK, Spain and Belgium, which could all lose workers from the sale of GM
Europe to Magna and Russia’s Sberbank, have pressured the European Union to
investigate the deal. Unions argue Germany paid over the odds for a deal
that would favour Opel plants in Germany.
British union Unite has said the UK plants could have to close within six
years and argues the plan is unfair because the German factories are
inefficient. Several thousand union members, including some from across
Europe, protested at Opel’s Antwerp plant last month.
Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, on Wednesday wrote that Brussels
was committed to “ensuring a process that is not distorted by protectionist
motives but based on commercial considerations to sustain viable jobs”. She
was responding to a letter from Lord Mandelson raising doubts about the
project’s viability.
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