THE Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port will close on Friday for a month as the crisis engulfing the world’s car market continues to bite locally.

It was revealed this weekend that Vauxhall, which employs 2,200 at its Wirral factory, had been involved in talks with the Government last week, but the company denied it had asked for financial guarantees.

Last night, US lawmakers were getting closer to a deal to provide $15bn (£10.1bn) in emergency loans to help General Motors, Vauxhall’s parent company, and Chrysler avoid bankruptcy.

It came as an influential US senator said GM chief executive Rick Wagoner should resign to allow new leadership to restructure the faltering company.

Vauxhall said the negotiations taking place in America were “highly relevant to the strategic direction of the GM global business and specifically for Vauxhall in the UK”.

Union leaders in Merseyside last night said Vauxhall’s management should be asking the Government for assurances if GM did go under.

John Fetherstone, union convenor for Unite, said both Vauxhall and the British Government needed to follow Germany’s example and start planning for if the worst happened with GM.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last month her government was ready to guarantee funds for Opel, another subsidiary of GM.

The German government is currently working on a number of options, and is expected to make an announcement before Christmas.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said yesterday there will be no “blank cheque” to rescue troubled companies.

It comes despite Jaguar Land Rover, which employs more than 2,000 people at Halewood, asking for a £1bn rescue package.