BRIGHTON, England (AFP) - British trade union leaders said they would meet with bosses at Ford this week amid reports the US car giant plans to shut a plant in England making luxury Jaguar cars, resulting in 2,000 job losses.
Union leaders attending the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress in Brighton, southern England, said they would meet senior Ford managers on Friday after The Times newspaper said the firm was planning to shut one of three plants in Britain making Jaguar cars.
"This top level meeting follows mounting speculation in the media regarding the future of the Jaguar plant at Browns Lane in Coventry," said a joint statement issued by the engineering union Amicus and the Transport and General Workers` Union (T and G), whose general secretaries are to attend the talks.
"The involvement of the general secretaries indicates the seriousness that the unions take in securing the future of the plant and its 2,000 jobs," said the statement.
Ford last month cut production at the three British sites making Jaguar cars because of weak demand, particularly in the United States.
A Ford spokesman said Friday`s meeting had been scheduled for some time and would not be drawn on the report in The Times.
"Nothing is ruled in or out," he said.
Ford`s Premier Automotive Group, which comprises Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover, made a 362 million-dollar loss in the second quarter, the group`s results showed in July.