THE new European boss of Vauxhall parent General Motors says final decisions about its restructuring plan may not be made until the New Year.

Last month, GM abandoned plans to sell its European businesses, including the Vauxhall plant, at Ellesmere Port, which employs more than 2,000 people.

GM had planned to sell the business and both potential buyers had warned there could be hundreds of jobs lost in Ellesmere Port.

But GM has now said that the Cheshire plant will escape the cuts, which will instead be largely made in Germany and Belgium.

It has appointed Nick Reilly, a former plant director at Ellesmere Port, as president of GM Europe. He had already been leading GM’s restructuring on an acting basis. He said: “While it is indeed exciting to see that things are coming together, bear in mind this is going to be one of the largest, most complex industrial reorganisations in European manufacturing in years.

“It will affect thousands of people and their families; impact on plants and other stakeholders.

“We are determined to do this right. We must do this right.

“Although we had hoped to have the new business model finalised in December, it appears that more work needs to be done and further consultations will not be rushed.

“I said earlier that we would have a plan in place by year-end. Now it looks like an announcement may slip into January. This is not a broken promise. It is a pledge to do something right.”