THE sigh of relief from Jaguar Land Rover at Halewood that the new baby Range Rover LRX is coming to the plant must have been heard for miles around.

But celebrations will no doubt have been slightly muted by the knowledge that one of the two Midland Jaguar Land Rover plants is to close. Midland and Merseyside car workers have stuck together through difficult times at JLR in the last few years, and there will be much sadness that the axe has fallen anywhere in the company.

There will be some comfort drawn from the statement from JLR that there will be no compulsory job losses. As JLR has also let it be known that the new LRX will create 800 new jobs at Halewood, it would seem logical that displaced Midlanders would have first pick at Halewood if they feel inclined to move up to Merseyside.

Parent company Tata’s faith in its Merseyside workforce is something that needs trumpeting out loud.

The would-be new owners of General Motors Europe and Vauxhall would do well to take that same message on board when it comes to deciding how many jobs need to be lost after the acquisition.

Ellesmere Port car workers have just the same qualities as their counterparts in Halewood – including sticking together with their colleagues at other plants – and will no doubt be just as excellent workers for their new employers as those at Halewood have been for Tata.

One swallow does not make a summer, of course, but the announcement from JLR is a very strong signal that not everything in Merseyside manufacturing is doom and gloom. The tunnel is still long and dark, but there is a glimmer of light at its end.