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Last car to roll off factory line Last car rolls off Ryton's line
(about 3 hours later)
The final car is expected to roll off the main production line at Peugeot's Ryton Plant on Tuesday. The final car is set to roll off the production line at Peugeot's Ryton Plant near Coventry marking the end of 60 years of car making at the site.
The Warwickshire plant, where the 206 is produced, is closing in January with the loss of 2,300 jobs. The plant closes in January with the loss of 2,300 jobs as production of the 206 is moved to Slovakia.
A spokesman said the last vehicle is expected to come off the line during the afternoon, marking the end of 60 years of production. A union leader said the decision to bring forward the closure date to Tuesday was "callous".
But the company said everything possible had been done to support workers to find new jobs.
Most staff stop work on Friday, when the plant closes for the holidays, but the official closure date is 8 January.Most staff stop work on Friday, when the plant closes for the holidays, but the official closure date is 8 January.
'Damage inflicted'
A small number of staff will be back at work next month to decommission the site.A small number of staff will be back at work next month to decommission the site.
Transfer to Europe The company said it had studied a union plan aimed at saving Ryton but said it was not viable, because it would cost an extra £70m a year to build a new model there compared with Slovakia.
Peugeot first announced in April that the plant, near Coventry, was to shut. In a message to workers Jim O'Boyle, the Transport and General Workers Union's convener at Ryton, said: "We all know the sense of anger and betrayal many of you felt following the announcement of the closure.
It was widely expected it would close in the middle of 2007, but the company brought forward the closing date to January. "This was compounded by the company's callous decision to bring forward the closure to Christmas, in direct contradiction of the promise they made to maintain production at Ryton until mid-2007."
Peugeot is transferring production to Slovakia, where production costs are cheaper. He said the company had remained "impervious" to calls for a reversal of the closure or for compensation for the early shut down.
Unions have bitterly opposed the move. "This response from the company has hurt everybody deeply.
Last year, nearly 6,000 car jobs were lost at MG Rover in Longbridge, Birmingham. "We can never forgive the company for the damage they have inflicted on you, your families and your communities," he said.
In 2004, up to 1,000 jobs were lost in Coventry when Jaguar moved production to Castle Bromwich in Birmingham. Help with training
A company spokesman said a total of 6,000 job opportunities had been offered to workers and there were still 70 jobs within the company in Coventry that had not been taken up.
"Throughout this difficult period the group has made every effort to support its employees," the firm said in a statement.
"Every worker leaves with an industry-leading redundancy package of between one and three years' salary and comprehensive support has been in place to help employees find new jobs."
More than 1.3 million Peugeot 206 models have been built at Ryton since 1998, with more than four million cars produced since the plant opened in 1940.