There is no imminent closure due for Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall plant.
In an international statement last week, the parent PSA Group said production would continue, for now, and that’s good news for the hundreds of Welsh workers who commute to the plant each day. The emphasis is on efficiency gains to lower breakeven points.
Groupe PSA chief Carlos Tavares described the situation for loss-making Opel-Vauxhall as ‘dramatic’ and said it faces headwinds in Europe as it strives to become profitable.
However, he said there is a significant opportunity to rescue the company, building on the experience of the turnaround at PSA.
“What has been done in the last 50 years did not work,” he said. “That is a fact.”
Tavares stressed the need for Opel-Vauxhall to lift its performance from within. “There is no intention to micro-manage Opel-Vauxhall,” he said. “It is in the hands of the CEO and managing board. Management must manage.” He also said that “people are not the problem, people are the solution.”