“This is more devastating news for workers in this area and my
thoughts are first and foremost with the families of those who
will be losing their jobs.
“When previous job losses were announced in October, it was made
clear that manufacturing costs were higher at Ellesmere Port than
some other plants. That is why I called on the government
to urgently intervene and work with the management to reduce
costs and improve productivity, for example by creating
incentives to encourage suppliers to relocate to Ellesmere Port.
Sadly, and unlike on previous occasions when the facility has
faced difficulties, Ministers have provided warm words but no
concrete action, while governments in other countries are pulling
out all the stops to improve competitiveness. I have been
working closely with the Council and Local Enterprise Partnership
to improve the situation but in order to deliver this, we need a
financial commitment from the government, and we need it
now.
“As I pointed out earlier today, while we have seen new funding
announced for the infrastructure to support electronic vehicles,
we have seen nothing to support the production of the next
generation of vehicles in this country. We have a proud
manufacturing heritage in this country, but we risk being left
behind if we don’t act now. The government must surely realise
that the PSA Group are serious when they say they will judge each
plant on its competitiveness and we desperately need an
interventionist government supportive of manufacturing if we are
to protect the remaining highly valued, skilled jobs at the
plant.”
