Really small green shoots and the race for GM Europe’s jobs

| Friday, July 3, 2009

No lush forests full of enormous green leaves in the UK yet: the green shoots appearing in the services sector - which represents three-quarters of UK GDP – are still tiny and will find growth over the coming months very difficult given the current economic environment.

The race for GM Europe

The June survey of British purchasing managers’ confidence in the service sector shows a slight growth tendency but also shows, for the first time since last November, a fall in new orders, as well as a tendency towards lower prices.

The FT points out that these confidence surveys still show a level far above similar surveys in the US and Europe, and that they have risen 11.4 points over the past six months.

Europeans race for GM jobs

Seeing an opportunity to get on TV trying to save British jobs for British workers, the Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has said that the British government will guarantee a loan or loan the money to save jobs at two GM Europe plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port, where they make the brand’s cars and vans.

Brown’s lot are prepared to put forward up to €500m to save around 5,000 jobs, after the Canadian firm Magna warned of 10,000 job losses in Europe when it takes over GM’s European subsidiary.

Not nearly as much as Merkel’s lot in Germany, though, who have already slapped €1.5 billion in financing down on the table.

In Spain, of course, Zapatero’s meeting with Magna representatives, due to take place in Aragón, has been delayed until ‘mañana‘, apparently for ‘flight complications‘ but the summer has already begun here, so who really knows. It doesn’t look good for the Spanish.