GKN: Workers at Erdington car parts plant set to strike

GKN expects to close its Birmingham factory by 2022

Workers at an engineering factory are to launch an all-out strike over the site's closure, their union says.

Unite members at the GKN Drivelines factory in Birmingham are set to begin continuous strike action from 27 September.

Parent company Melrose GKN announced the factory, which makes drivelines for the UK's automotive sector, will close in 2022.

More than 500 jobs are set to be lost as a result.

The work is planned for Poland and France instead.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "We will not stand by and let this employer offshore British jobs without a fight.

"We will leave no stone unturned in the ongoing battle to ensure the future of the Birmingham factory and our members."

GKN, which supplies car parts for many of the world's cars and trucks, announced in January proposals to close its Erdington site.

It has operated at the Chester Road location for more than 50 years, but GKN said previously the company had "no choice" but to close it.

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