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Aston Martin plant ‘will remain open’

Manufacturing at the factory in Tickford Street will end in the summer of next year when work on the Vanquish model ceases. But the plant, which has been in Newport Pagnell since 1954, will focus on after-sales work, such as servicing, restoration and upgrades.

Around 100 of the 260 workers will be affected when Aston Martin moves its manufacturing, said a company spokesman.

Ford put Aston Martin up for sale earlier this year and the Transport and General Workers Union has voiced new fears that workers in the UK will lose their jobs when the marque is sold.

T&G regional industrial organiser John Street has requested a meeting with Milton Keynes MPs Mark Lancaster and Dr Phyllis Starkey to discuss the impact of the sale and the possible closure of the Newport Pagnell site if car manufacturing is outsourced to Europe. Dave Osborne, the union’s national secretary for the car industry, said Newport Pagnell was “an important and iconic site”.

As the new James Bond film Casino Royale dominates cinema screens, Mr Street said: “Aston Martin is as British as James Bond himself.”

Aston Martin employs more than 1,600 workers at Newport Pagnell and Gaydon, of whom 1,000 are involved in manufacturing. Bids have included major private equity companies as well as French and Belgian entrepreneurs. Reports indicate the sale price could be around £1 billion.

The Aston Martin spokesman said: “We have never made any secret of the fact that manufacturing in Newport Pagnell would close next year. The work service department will remain there, so there will be a presence in the town. The T&G are fully up to speed on this.”