LDV reaches the end of the road

Efforts to rescue LDV have proved unsuccessful, and as a result the automotive group is set to be put in administration today. Last week potential buyer Malaysian group Weststar pulled out of talks to take over the Midlands vanmaker, owned by Russian energy company GAZ, which left it with no viable options.

The failure puts an end to decades of production at Birmingham’s Washwood Heath site since the days when the plant was part of the British Leyland group.

It also means the company’s 850 workers are at immediate risk, with over 5,000 more jobs at dealerships and suppliers also in danger.

On Friday LDV workers travelled to Westminster to request a £60m loan, only to be rebuffed with no government representatives available to meet them as a result of the cabinet reshuffle. Many feel that the expense of keeping the plant open will be outweighed by the costs related to its closure.

It is thought that Weststar may still be interestested in bidding for LDV's assets, although they would be likely to move them overseas, with no benefit to the local area. The company has been quiet since mid-December, with no van production taking place and it is thought that £53m will be spent in unemployment benefits and lost taxes in the course of the first year.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
David Bailey, Birmingham Evening Post: "It's time for [government body] BERR to think out-of-the-box, both in terms of where the market is going, and how LDV - and indeed the UK van industry - can get there. It would be a tragedy if thousands of workers are let down because the government is at this very moment too inward looking - given its resignations and reshuffles - to focus on efforts to restructure and help what can be a successful firm in the future. To borrow a phrase from someone on the other side of the Atlantic who just nationalised GM, 'yes we can'." ·