Britain said today it would provide a 270 million pound loan guarantee to General Motors Europe to help secure the company's operations in Britain and the rest of Europe, according to Reuters. "We need Vauxhall to thrive as part of Britain's automotive manufacturing base, and following our negotiations with GM Europe I am confident it will do so," Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said in a statement. He said the outline agreement followed long and highly complex talks between the government and GM. Vauxhall is the UK operation of General Motors and has two plants in England, one north of London at Luton, and the other in Ellesmere Port in the north-west. They employ 4,700 people. "The company has been in discussion with the British Government for many months and this very positive conclusion means that Opel/Vauxhall can forge ahead with its restructuring plans and strengthen its product lines," Opel/Vauxhall said in a statement. The European unit of beleaguered U.S. automaker GM is seeking 2.7 billion euros in state aid from countries with Opel and Vauxhall plants, as it seeks to slash jobs and production capacity in a bid to become profitable. Mandelson's department said discussions would continue with GM and other European governments to finalise the remaining details of funding terms and arrangements enabling the implementation of its business plan.
