Union optimistic after Stadco pull out of MG TF production

Apr 15 2008 By Rhona Ganguly

Stadco’s decision to stop manufacturing body-shells for the MG TF sports car could prove beneficial for the long-term future of Longbridge, a union spokesman has claimed.

Although sources in the automotive industry had previously said the decision would effectively sound the "death knell" for Longbridge, Tim Parker, regional officer for Unite, claimed it was not a completely negative decision.

Mr Parker said the development meant Unite would have less dealings with Nanjing - which he claimed never had the expertise and the financial resources to "really make that operation in Longbridge a runner", nor had it co-operated with the unions, he said.

Instead, it would deal with the more experienced Shangai Automotive Corporation SAIC, with the potential for more production at Longbridge.

"There are positives and negatives to this," he explained. "On the negative side, with Nanjing, we would say that they never had the expertise and more importantly the financial resources to really make that operation in Longbridge a runner.

"We are obviously disappointed that they stripped out a lot of resources and sent a lot of the machinery to China, but at the same time, they claimed they would be producing up to 50,000 units and creating 2,000 to 5,000 jobs and this has never really materialised and we believe, to a degree, that they have been a little reluctant to enter into proper cooperation with the union.

"Having said that, Shanghai Automotive are entering into this and are senior partner now and they do have expertise and financial resources, so we are a little more upbeat about how the future might look and if that was to continue. There is a fairly good chance that we will see cars rolling off the production line."

His comments however contrasted with those of other union representatives, who are seeking an urgent meeting with Nanjing to clarify their intentions for Longbridge.

They have claimed the recent developments could only result in an end of production at Longbridge, with "screwdriver assembly" used instead, if bosses decided to move production out of the country.

In response to concerns of the Chinese shelving plans for the building of MG TFs in the UK, with the possibility of bringing over and assembling cars in kit form, Gerard Coyne, regional secretary for the T&G section of Unite the union, said: "We would be bitterly disappointed by that because screwdriver assembly does not bring high quality engineering or research and development jobs that we were promised.

"This is a huge disappointment. It points to a lack of commitment from NAC, SAIC - whoever is calling the shots - to a viable production facility at Longbridge.

"Unless the Chinese come forward with plans in the very near future, nobody can come to anything other than the conclusion that Longbridge will never produce cars again.

"We will be seeking a meeting with NAC because in terms of a forecast for the future, this bodes ill."