VAUXHALL is adding 550 extra jobs to its manufacturing workforce in order to handle the introduction of new car and van models. The company says it’s the first big hiring programme at its UK operations for over a decade.
About 300 of the new jobs will be created at the Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire, a significant addition to the existing work-force of 1,600.
Here, the extra employees will be phased in from early 2015 as the plant gears up for the introduction of the next-generation Astra later that year.
Ellesmere Port has a contract to produce the new car into the next decade, and will benefit from £125 of extra investment.
The remaining 250 positions are being created at Vauxhall’s Luton van plant, where the recently launched second-generation Vivaro is being made, with new investment of £185 million.
The extra jobs will come on stream early next year, when a second shift is being added to meet increased production. The Luton factory currently has about 1,200 employees.
“This is great news for Vauxhall and for British manufacturing,” said Tim Tozer, Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director. “Both of our UK manufacturing plants have won long contracts with all-new product and as the business strengthens, we now need to take on more people to build these exciting new Vauxhalls.”
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