Jobs secured at Ellesmere Port by Vauxhall Astra production

A new Era of Astra cars will be built at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port in an “historic” agreement seeing the factory produce a minimum of 160,000 cars a year. Approximately 700 job opportunities will be created on location at Ellesmere Port with an estimated 2000 more within the supply chain. General Motors have announced an investment of £125 million in the Ellesmere Port factory itself and a further £1bn in other areas across the U.K.

Chairman of Vauxhall Duncan Aldred described how historic and ground breaking the agreement was, seeing the factory potentially have the capacity to produce 220,000 cars per annum. It was originally feared at the start of the year that the Ellesmere Port plant would shut down due to a restructuring plan set by General Motors.

The restructuring plan may have come into question when the Ellesmere Port workers set the company record for producing 47 cars an hour over two shifts a day. Production of the new Astra will begin at the plant in 2015 and is guaranteed to keep producing until 2020. As part of an agreement to invest in the plant, factory workers voted in favour of a new four-year pay and conditions deal that would allow the plant to work 24/7 for 51 weeks annually.

General Secretary of Unite Union Len McCluskey said “From a position of uncertainty earlier this year, there is now a potential for a future at the plant until 2020 and beyond” In other automotive news Nissan have also announced recently that they are planning to build their new hatch back at the Sunderland plant.

Business secretary Vince Cable, described how a huge effort from himself and his team helped to secure the future of the Ellesmere Port plant and agrees that it is a massive step for both the industry and the local economy.