LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s biggest trade union Unite called on Tuesday for French automaker PSA to build electrified vehicles at its Vauxhall/Opel car factory in England after post-Brexit trading terms were finalised.
Peugeot parent company PSA bought Opel, which trades as Vauxhall in Britain, in 2017, and said in 2019 that future investment in the northern English Ellesmere Port plant would depend on the final terms of Britain’s exit from the EU.
On Christmas Eve, London and Brussels sealed a deal to secure tariffless trade for the industry, dependent on local content levels.
“We call upon PSA to look at a longer term plan to build electrified vehicles at both Luton and Ellesmere Port with future regulatory and legislative changes in mind,” said Unite national officer for automotive industries Des Quinn.
“At Ellesmere Port, it is also now time for our members to be rewarded for their ongoing commitment and having met all cost requirements to be awarded new product – currently, it is the only plant in Europe not to have been.”
Shareholders on Monday approved the creation of the world’s fourth largest automaker as part of a $52 billion merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas in London; editing by William James)
