U.K.: No Special Deals to Save Ellesmere Port Plant

The British government says it did not offer General Motors Co.'s Adam Opel unit any special incentives to continue producing the Astra compact car at its factory in Ellesmere Port, England.

Opel confirms that it had not received any subsidy.

The company was reportedly considering closing the U.K. facility after the current-generation Astra goes out of production in 2014. But Opel announced last week it would build the next-generation Astra in Ellesmere Port and at a factory in Gliwice, Poland. The decision appears to leave an Opel assembly plant in Bochum, Germany, vulnerable to closing.

Opel labor chief Wolfgang Schaefer-Klug alleges that the U.K. offered subsidies to GM in violation of European Union rules, according to German news reports.

The U.K. Dept. for Business tells Reuters it informed GM that all carmakers can seek support when launching new products. The company says it has not applied for such support for the next-generation Astra.