UNION leaders last night warned of “difficult times ahead” after Canadian car parts maker Magna International agreed to take over Vauxhall and its German sister Opel.

Today Vauxhall’s parent company General Motors (GM) is expected to file for bankruptcy in the USA.

Although the deal with Magna protects GM’s European division in the short term, unions warned the firm was likely to cut some 10,000 jobs this side of the Atlantic.

Union leader at the firm’s Ellesmere Port plant John Fetherstone said he hoped the launch of the new Astra at the Cheshire factory in September would shield its 2,200 workforce from both savage cuts and closure.

He said: “I think it would be foolish and unlikely to take production elsewhere. But there will be difficult times ahead.”

Along with other union leaders, he is due to meet Vauxhall’s chairman Bill Parfitt tomorrow when he hopes to find out more about the Magna deal.

The deal with Magna will see the company acquire GM Europe with £1.3bn (1.5bn euro) in bridging loans from Germany, while contributing £262m to keep the division running in the short term.

Under the deal, Magna will take a 20% stake in Opel and Russian-owned Sberbank will take a 35% stake, giving their consortium a majority. GM will retain 35%, and the remaining 10% will go to Opel employees.

Mr Fetherstone said: “Magna have clearly said that some restructuring would be needed with the loss of 10,000 jobs from GM Europe.”

GM Europe employs around 50,000 people, with 25,000 in Germany, 5,000 in the UK, and the rest across Europe.