Ahead of travelling to France for discussions with Vauxhall owners the PSA Group, Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Britain’s biggest union, has encouraged the workforce at the Home of the Astra in Ellesmere Port not to be defeatist.

PSA, which bought Vauxhall/Opel from GM in a £1.9m deal last spring, has recently announced workforce losses totalling 650 in a bid to make the North Road site more profitable ahead of any decision to base a future model there.

Vauxhall has suffered declining sales as buyers switch to SUVs and similar ‘chunky’ vehicles rather than the Astras built in the town.

Mr McCluskey, who leads Unite, has called on the PSA Group to provide investment guarantees on new models for Ellesmere Port.

He adds: “The Government must play its part too and provide guarantees on frictionless trade after Brexit. Its current red lines on the customs union and single market will do little to instil business confidence and unlock the investment needed.

“We ask that ministers give PSA and other manufacturers a clear signal that Government will do all it needs to support this crucial sector through the Brexit process.”

General Secretary of Unite Len McCluskey

In a series of tweets he added: “PSA says there needs to be changes for Ellesmere Port to remain. If they commit to a new model then we will sit down and talk about change. Otherwise @unitetheunion will not allow them to continue to enjoy their healthy share of the UK market.”

He suggests: “Our members at Ellesmere Port must be feeling punch-drunk at moment. But as I told @bbcmerseyside they should not be defeatist. I’m going to France in the next fortnight to meet with Carlos Tavares to tell him that we will not allow PSA to close a healthy UK plant.”

Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders (Lab), who has described the latest redundancies as ‘devastating’, told ITV’s Lucy Meacock the initial announcement of 400 job losses last October was a ‘strong message’ from the PSA Group about the efficiencies they were hoping to deliver at the plant.

Ellesmere Port & Neston MP Justin Madders

He claims there has been no action by the Government to help Vauxhall ‘which is why we sadly have more job losses’.

Mr Madders believes there should be a special deal on the lines of the measures agreed for Nissan in Sunderland. “We just want parity with that,” he said.

Mr Madders insists: “I am committed to doing everything I can to keep the plant open.” The plant’s local management and the union are also working hard ‘to keep the plant going’.

“We need the Government to come on board, we need the PSA Group to show some commitment as well,” he added.

Following a visit by business secretary Greg Clark to PSA chief Carlos Tavares in Paris, the Financial Times said it was believed he had expressed the Government’s disappointment at the job losses at the plant and had emphasised the importance of PSA having a presence in the UK. There was no statement from PSA.