Vauxhall workers speak out

The future of Vauxhall's two British plants are still uncertain after talks in Berlin broke down over who will buy the firm's parent company, GM Europe.

Current and former workers at Vauxhall spoke to the BBC to tell of their experiences.

TERRY JONES, CURRENT WORKER AT ELLESMERE PORT

I started working at Ellesmere Port 18 years ago and have been speaking to colleagues who've been around since the 70s. They say things were never as bad as they are now.

It's not just that cars are not selling, it's the uncertainty in the market too.

I work on maintenance within the factory and we're currently on a 30-hour week.

Terry believes the new Vauxhall Astra will bring life to Ellesmere Port

We lost up to 1,000 jobs on the plant around three years ago and production has continued to slow. It gives you some idea of how bad things are.

It's unfair for people to assume that somehow we're like an old Leyland factory. Ellesmere Port is extremely lean and extremely productive that is why, I think, the government could be doing much more to sell our case.

The story of what could happen to jobs at Vauxhall is in the news this week but the uncertainty has been lingering for months.

Of course I am trying to be optimistic.

We've been told that we could be back in full production by the end of the year with the new Astra.

But I'm 50-years-old and can't help but become anxious when there's talk of job losses.

CHRIS SMITH, FORMER WORKER AT LUTON

My family had been associated with Vauxhall since 1946, both mum and dad had worked at the Luton plant, so you can imagine how I felt when I found out on BBC News that, after 27 and a half years, I was going to lose my job.

Britain's manufacturing industry must be protected otherwise there will be nothing left

It happened just before Christmas, as these things usually do.

We were a profitable factory, our workforce was dynamic and strong but unfortunately, in the end we were at the mercy of Germany's strict employment laws.

That was the problem when I left and that seems to be the problem now.

I understand that the decision over what happens is taken by General Motors in America and not Vauxhall in Britain, that's why our government needs to do more to protect British workers.

The German government does and ours must too.

The worst thing was the uncertainty. I had been with the company for such a long time.

Re-training, sending out CVs and looking for employment is never a nice thing but I managed to get another job within a few months - not in the car industry and not in my home town.

I look back on my days at Vauxhall with fondness and I can't believe we are again seeing the car manufacturing industry in the UK facing such a crisis.

It must be protected because at the rate it is going there will be no manufacturing left.