Vauxhall workers in Luton to protest over ‘totally unnecessary’ Stellantis closure plans
Union workers will protest outside Luton’s Vauxhall factory over Stellantis’ plans to close the site.
Unite announced the two-day protest and rally today (Monday) over the car manufacturer’s intention to shut production at the electric van factory – putting 1,100 jobs at risk.
Workers will stage their protest outside gate one at the Kimpton Road site tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday (December 18) between 8am and 4pm. They will also hold a rally at 12pm tomorrow.
Unite 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. Time has now rightly been called on Carlos Tavares, whose counterproductive strategy of cutting Stellantis to the bone to artificially inflate profits has clearly failed.
“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’ regime and allow for proper negotiations between workers, management and government over the future of the plant.”
Last month, Cllr Hazel Simmons MBE, leader of Luton Borough Council called the plans a ‘devastating blow’ to the town.
Stellantis, owner of Vauxhall, revealed its latest plans to move production to its Ellesmere Port plant as part of a £50 million investment. More than 1,000 jobs are at risk at the site on Kimpton Road, which was due to become the second site in the country to manufacture Vauxhall's electric vehicles.