General Motors has confirmed plans to cut 9,000 jobs from its European plants, but left the fate of the company’s 5,000 British workers hanging in the air.

Nick Reilly, head of the company’s European operations said that 50 to 60 per cent of the jobs cuts would be in Germany, where around 25,000 of GM’s 45,000-strong work force are based.

He said that the company’s capacity in Europe would be cut by 20 per cent under a restructuring plan, which is being put out to consultation with the workforce and interested parties for two or three weeks.

But he did not comment on the Vauxhall plants in Luton, Bedfordshire, or Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

Mr Reilly acknowledged that the future of its plant in Antwerp, Belgium, was “uncertain”, and said he would set up a working group to review its future. Earlier he told reporters that all four Opel plants in Germany will remain open under the restructuring plan, for which it is seeking up to Euros 3.3 billion from European governments.

Mr Reilly was speaking at a press conference after attending a meeting with GM’s European Employee Forum.

Earlier this month GM shocked Germany and other European countries by abruptly canceling the planned sale of a majority in Opel to a consortium of Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank.

Times Recommends

• Toyota recalls 437,000 cars including Lexus
• Myners says bonuses are bleeding pension funds
• Japanese company faked safety reports on seats