Mayor urged to back fight to save Birmingham GKN factory
A leading trade unionist today called on the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street to step up in the fight to avert the GKN jobs crisis which could see the company exit Erdington and the UK, with 520 skilled jobs lost to the region.
GKN's plans to relocate overseas have sent shockwaves across the UK auto sector.
Steve Turner, Unite's assistant general secretary for manufacturing, warns that the site's closure would be a body blow not just in the Midlands but across the UK at a critical time for the industry, with high value components lost to, among others, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota.
He is also urging Mr Street to back calls by Unite, Coventry Airport and the city's council for a gigafactory to be built on the airport site. The UK needs seven gigafactories but has only one in the pipeline, recently announced at Nissan in Sunderland.
Mr Turner wants the Coventry site to be the UK's second manufacturing gigafactory for electric batteries to feed the local auto sector.
On his West Midlands visit, Mr Turner was also meeting workers at the Cadbury factory at Bourneville and 2 Sisters plant at West Bromwich.
He said: “We need to get the West Midlands region roaring again. We simply cannot lose the GKN plant on Chester Road.
“If this were Germany, there is no way that Angela Merkel would even entertain the possibility of losing these skills and this region's place as a powerhouse of manufacturing excellence.
“The villain of this piece is the Westminster government, which got up one morning and announced the early death of the combustion engine, without a word to anybody in the auto industry. This has caused chaos and put thousands of jobs at risk.
“So they need to make amends, and fast, by seizing the opportunity to put the GKN site, its workforce and the West Midlands region at the heart of the green revolution that's sweeping through manufacturing.
“Get this right, and GKN could be at the heart of our auto sector’s transition. Get it wrong, and the body blow will be felt right across this industry.
On his visit to the 2 Sisters Food Group site at Hill Top, he said: “I want to thank our members who have worked throughout the pandemic under such intense pressure and our brilliant Unite safety representatives who have kept the workplace safe and protected members from falling ill during this unprecedented period."
