What we're doing with GM in the UK with our manufacturing operations is very much focusing on how we secure the long-term competitiveness of our operations here in the UK.

And for Ellesmere Port that means today we are announcing we are moving from a three-shift to a two-shift operation.

That will entail approximately 900 job reductions. We will be seeking to achieve those job reductions through voluntary agreements with the employees affected.

It's very important to understand that this is a step towards getting employment levels here at Ellesmere Port to a level that will be required for future vehicle production.

The meetings today with Gordon Brown, Alastair Darling, Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson are an important part of the discussions we are having with the government, trade unions and all the local development agencies in terms of preparing the case for Ellesmere Port to secure that future investment.

We are focusing this adjustment on the highest-cost plants across Europe - and today that highest-cost plant is Ellesmere Port.

There is still more work to secure the long-term future of Ellesmere Port. What we're doing today is making an important adjustment to our competitiveness. We're working to put Ellesmere Port in the very best position going forward.

The automotive industry is a globally competitive industry. At the moment, the Western European manufacturing sites are generally higher-cost sites. We're putting together a plan to secure if at all possible a plan to secure the future of UK manufacturing.

We will be moving on towards the next generation of the Astra with improvements in the engineering and manufacturing process. We will be able to build the new vehicle with three shifts with the level of employment we will have after this.