Nissan announces 1,200 jobs to go at Sunderland plant

Jan 9 2009 by William Green, The Journal

Tories back car industry

CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron last night blasted the Government for failing to help the car industry despite growing warnings about the impact of the credit crunch.

Motor industry chiefs have pleaded with ministers for months to provide support amid sliding sales, including access to the same pot of funding for banks and improved access to credit to see the industry through the recession.

But the Government has sent out conflicting messages, initially promising to do everything to help and then insisting any support would be a last resort.

Mr Cameron told The Journal: “This will be devastating for families who are affected by it. Our national loan guarantee scheme would help the car industry get the credit support it needs.

“Every day the Government delays such a scheme, more jobs are lost,” said Mr Cameron, who has visited the Nissan car factory.

He said large quantities of taxpayers’ cash should not be handed to business, but that it was vital to ease the credit crunch, with car manufacturers and suppliers seeing credit lines withdrawn, overdrafts withheld and hikes in interest rates.

And he signalled car companies should be allowed access to the same special liquidity scheme available to banks, alongside the Tories’ own loan guarantee scheme, where the Government would back lending by banks.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne is also set to address these issues in a speech today, hinted Mr Cameron.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the Nissan job losses were “devastating” news after Sunderland-based Unipres, which presses parts for Nissan, announced plans to axe 96 full-time jobs just weeks after telling 200 temporary staff they would no longer be needed.

“The regularity and scale at which job losses are now being announced show just how serious a recession we are now in.

“The Government must act quickly to give support and training to those affected so they are able to find new jobs as soon as possible,” said Mr Clegg.

Cameron interview: page 24