GM expected to announce UK job cuts soon: Union

London, May 17: General Motors is expected to announce plans shortly for about 1,000 job cuts at its Ellesmere Port plant, near Liverpool in northwest England, unions said on Wednesday as the carmaker and union leaders sat down for final talks.

A meeting between union officials and GM management started around 0700 GMT at the plant where workers were expected to be told the night shift at the factory would be axed.

''About 1,000 jobs are seriously at risk this morning,'' a spokesman for the Transport&General Workers Union (T&G) said.

''We expect it to be bad news in terms of the night shift. We will be very clear about the imperative to bring the new Astra to Ellesmere Port.'' The move by GM, which is seeking to boost manufacturing productivity for the Astra compact model, followed unsuccessful negotiations with labour representatives who wanted to share production cuts across other plants in Germany and Belgium that make the model.

Unions and the UK government are expected to press GM to ensure a new-generation Astra will be built in UK, ensuring the future of the Ellesmere Port plant.

Any British job losses would follow last month's decision by French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen to close its central England plant next year, eliminating 2,300 jobs, and the collapse of British carmaker MG Rover last year.

GM is expected to issue a formal statement on Wednesday. Unions have scheduled a press conference for 0930 GMT.

REUTERS