Mandelson urged to save van jobs

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson will be urged to help save thousands of jobs when he visits one of the UK's last remaining van factories. The minister will tour Vauxhall's Luton plant and meet union officials, local MPs and company managers on Friday, as negotiations continue with potential buyers of its parent company GM Europe. Union officials said they wanted to impress on Lord Mandelson the "strong case" for supporting van production at Luton. Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna, backed by Russia's state-owned Sberbank, was selected last month as the preferred bidder for GM Europe, which includes Vauxhall in the UK and Opel in Germany, but other companies are believed to have shown an interest. China's Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) is reportedly putting together proposals, and its representatives are... [read full story]                    

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