12:21 pm, March 6, 2017
TWITTER was today abuzz with the news about the buyout of the European arm of GM.
Much of the reaction was positive but there was no getting away from the fact that jobs could be at risk, if not immediately then at some point in the future.
Opel Group chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann said:
This is the chance for #Opel/#Vauxhall to create a real European champion together with PSA. \KTN pic.twitter.com/XJBoggN5pb
— Karl-Thomas Neumann (@KT_Neumann) March 6, 2017
Carlos Tavares, chairman of the PSA managing board, welcomed Vauxhall and Opel to the group:
Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board, welcomes #Opel & #Vauxhall to the PSA Group. #PushToPass pic.twitter.com/UcxnHe1tnC
— Groupe PSA (@GroupePSA) March 6, 2017
Merseyside daily newspaper the Liverpool Echo fears for jobs:
Thousands of workers face an uncertain future https://t.co/kt222dgJqG
— Liverpool Echo (@LivEchonews) March 6, 2017
Brexit cast its inevitable shadow over proceedings:
So a French multinational now owns Vauxhall operations in a country about to Leave the EU.
Can anyone guess what will now happen? #Brexit
— James Willby (@JamesWillby) March 6, 2017
I wonder how many #Vauxhall workers voted for #brexit…the implications of their vote must just be dawning on them #r4today
— Bob Hawkins (@salvatorRosa) March 6, 2017
Hawkins faced a backlash and later clarified his stance:
And finally, there was this sardonic comment from Autocar writer Matt Prior, who had earlier stated on Twitter that he couldn’t understand why either party would want to strike such a deal ‘which is perhaps why I don’t run a car company’:
Boardrooms today.
PSA: “I can’t believe they’d sell it.
GM: “I can’t believe they’ve bought it.”— Matt Prior (@matty_prior) March 6, 2017
Main image shows Vauxhall’s Luton plant. Picture: Steve Parsons/PA Wire/PA Images
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