The Prime Minister, David Cameron, visited Vauxhall’s Luton van plant today to see at first-hand how Britain’s only light commercial vehicle manufacturer was settling down to its recently introduced second shift. Following the very successful launch of the new generation Vivaro, the second shift, requiring an additional 250 new employees, was required to supply the increasing demand for the new product.
The Prime Minister was greeted by Tim Tozer, Chairman and Managing Director of Vauxhall Motors and Mike Wright, Plant Director and was taken on a tour of final assembly where he fitted the front grille to a vehicle on the line. He was also introduced to the Mayor of Luton, Councillor Mohammed Farooq, who works on final assembly at the plant. This was followed by a round table discussion with a selection of employees including apprentices, undergraduates, new starters and longer term employees who all shared their thoughts and experiences of working at Vauxhall with the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister said he wanted to see an industrial renaissance, with plants like this expanding and that is what he had seen at Vauxhall’s Luton facility today. He added that with employment rising in the UK, it was good to meet some of the hardworking people benefiting from new jobs as well as apprentices starting out in a new trade.
Tim Tozer said: “We are very proud that the Prime Minister chose to visit our van plant here in Luton. The Government has been very supportive of the British automotive industry in recent years and was pro-active in helping to ensure that new Vauxhall Vivaro was allocated to this plant in the UK a few years ago. We look forward to working closely with Government to ensure that the UK improves its future competitiveness as a leading manufacturing base for automotive”.
