Bedford's Luton van plant in the balance
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• Crisis talks aimed at resolving differences between management and unions at Bedford's loss-making Luton van plant are continuing`, in the hope of reaching an agreement before the plant's summer shutdown on July 24. If a final agreement is not reached before July 24, however, Bedford says it can see no future for the plant.
This week manual workers at the plant rejected Bedford's radical proposals for new working practices which includes a no-strike deal, but welcomed the proposed joint venture between Isuzu and Bedford (CM, 2 May).
It now appears, however, that some job losses will be inevitable at the plant, which is losing £500,000 a week, in the short term, with around 500, or 25% of the workforce facing redundancy. Bedford insists that the exact number of workers required at the plant will not be clear until Easter next year, when under the proposals the plant is scheduled to begin double shift I work, producing some 40,000 Isuzu-badged vehicles for European markets, and Bedford badged vehicles for the UK.
Whether the two sides are able to agree on the wide ranging changes in working practices proposed remains uncertain. Bedford is asking its workers to agree to a no-strike agreement linked to a form of binding arbitration, and any such agreement is likely to set a precedent for vehicle manufacturers in Britain.
The company says that its offer is still open and believes that it would be possible to agree to a deal for the joint venture with Isuzu if workers changed their minds in the next two weeks. It says the alternative is "pretty stark".