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Protest held outside Vauxhall plant set for closure

Reuters A woman in a high-vis jacket waves a red flag as workers protest outside the Vauxhall plant in LutonReuters
Union members are at the forefront of the campaign to prevent the factory's closure

A two-day protest over the decision by Vauxhall's owner to close its van plant in Luton has got under way.

Stellantis recently announced it planned to shut the Kimpton Road site next year, combining its electric van production with its other UK plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and putting about 1,100 jobs at risk.

In a statement, the company said it was consulting unions over the proposals and there would be a "comprehensive support plan for impacted employees in Luton".

Paul Geary, senior representative at the plant for the Unite union, said the infrastructure for electric vehicles did not exist, and he urged the government to help save the plant.

Eric Johnson/BBC Paul Geary wearing a high-vis jacket over his black coat and wearing a black hat. He is waving a red Unite flag outside Vauxhall in LutonEric Johnson/BBC
Paul Geary urged the government to find an alternative to closing the plant

"It's not unique to Luton," he said. "Luton's just the first card in the pack.

"If the infrastructure's not there we'll see the likes of Toyata, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover falling by the wayside.

"The government have to step up... We need to all work together, and closing plants ain't the way."

Sarah Owen, Labour MP for Luton North, called on Stellantis to review its decision to close the factory during Prime Minister's Questions on 11 December.

Reuters A man in a grey coat and a black hat is reading orange literature handed out by protesters outside the Vauxhall plantReuters
Luton's Vauxhall factory opened in 1905, and at its height the plant employed 37,000 people

Stellantis, which also owns Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat, previously said rules imposed to speed up the transition to electric vehicles in the UK had partly driven its decision.

Labour's manifesto set a target of 2030 to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Manufacturers are currently required to sell a certain percentage of electric vehicles ahead of the that ban, with quotas increasing each year.

Current rules state that EVs must make up 22% of a manufacturer's car sales this year, and 10% of van sales.

Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis, resigned suddenly on 2 December.

Eric Johnson/BBC A large group of protesters with red flags stand together outside the Vauxhall plant in LutonEric Johnson/BBC
A rally is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at midday

The two-day protest is set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday between 08:00 and 16:00 GMT.

Unite said a rally would take place on Tuesday at midday.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: "Shutting the profitable Luton factory when it has just been made ready to produce electric vehicles from 2025 makes no sense.

"The opportunity is now there for Stellantis to prevent the needless destruction of its Luton operations

"Unite is calling on the company to withdraw the deadline for redundancies that was imposed under Carlos Tavares's regime and allow for proper negotiations between workers, management and government over the future of the plant."

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