Questions raised over Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port after losses

Feb 17 2012

Vauxhall, Ellesmere Port

VAUXHALLS parent company General Motors has announced fourth quarter losses of $600m in Europe.

The company has yet to announce what it will do to turn the losses around but says it plans to return its European arm, Opel/Vauxhall, to profitability.

With the North American and international arms of the business making profits, General Motors made a $7.6bn profit over the course of the year.

But GM Europe lost the company $700m and South America of $100m.

Dan Ammann, senior vice president of GM, said: "Behind the scenes, we are working hard to eliminate complexity and cost throughout the organisation to increase margins in all of our regions, and return Europe and South America to profitability."

Before the announcement, a Vauxhall spokeswoman warned everything is on the table including job losses and plant closures with some rumours suggesting Ellesmere Ports plant was under threat..

General Motors announced net income in 2011 of $7.6bn, up from $4.7bn in 2010 and revenue increased by 11% from 2010 to $150.3bn.

Dan Akerson, chairman and CEO of General Motors, said: "In our first full year as a public company, we grew the top and bottom lines, advanced our global market share and made strategic investments in our brands around the world. 

"We will build on these results as we bring more new cars, crossovers and trucks to market, and make GM a far more efficient global team. This includes reducing our break-even level in Europe and South America and driving higher revenues around the world. GM has announced it will give up to $7,000 each in bonuses to 47,500 eligible workers across the world compared with $4,300 a year ago."