French car maker PSA Peugeot-Citroen is to end production in Britain next year. The closure of the factory at Ryton, near Coventry in the midlands of England, will mean 2,300 people will lose their jobs. The Amicus trade union complained: “Weak UK labour laws are allowing British workers to be sacrificed at the expense of a flexible labour market.” The company, which recently announced a drop in profits, said it is pulling out of the UK because manufacturing and transportation costs are higher there than they are in France.

Chief executive Jean Martin Folz said this followed a detailed study since the start of this year by the group of its industrial cost effectiveness which had “clearly confirmed the weaknesses for the Ryton plant”. It is yet another blow to the car industry in the region following layoffs by Ford’s Jaguar and last year’s collapse of MG Rover which put 5,800 people out of work. The factory, which makes the Peugeot 206 car, will move from two shifts to one in July and cease production by the middle of 2007.

The union says there will be an “enormous” impact on the local economy, estimating that every job at Ryton sustained another three in service firms.

(this article was taken from euronews.net)

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