Vauxhall's car plants at Luton and Ellesmere Port will be hit by strike action next week as the biggest workers' union, the Transport & General Workers Union, stage a walk out in protest at redundancies.

Its members voted 58% in favour of action. Members of two other unions, the AEEU and MSF, voted against strike action.

T&GWU members at both plants are due to walk out of the night shifts next Thursday and all shifts the next day. An overtime ban will be in place the following weekend.

Vauxhall chairman and managing director Nick Reilly warned last week that strike action could hamper efforts to relocate 1,200 workers from car production at Luton to IBC. GM announced in December that car production was to stop at Luton.