Will Leyland Close Down?

Scan page 4

ruld stop production of specialist cars was a major Derek Robinson, Stalinist convenor at Longbridge: the CP produced a special pamphlet to back Leyland Plan 'A':

The Workers Socialist League is a Trotskyist organisation fighting to construct a principled revolutionary leadership in the working class in Britain and internationally, and for the reconstruction of the Trotskyist Fourth International on the basis of the Transitional Programme.

The WSL fights at every step against the existing leaders of the trade unions and the Labour Party - now firmly harnessed to the bourgeois politicians of the Liberal Party in an Against their policies of class collaboration we put forward instead a programme which points to the independent class interests of the working class, its need to organise independently to overthrow capitalism, destroy its repressive state machinery and establish a Only in this way can workers resolve today's problems of tumbling living standards, mass unemployment, slashed social services, racial, iritish lent ash Itack itions raded "reats Since Name. ¡ Ever since the oil crisis 1973. every time Leyland managehave wanted to through another on workers' conthey have speartheir moves by of closure. the toolroom strike •* Marcn Inıs enreal ilds shuant hao ached deafening proporons. The main voices to be tard shouting it have been ade union leaders.

Benevolence

These bureaucrats claim hat the fact Leyland has not losed sections or shut down #together was through the lenevolent desire of governbent and employer to save whe or throuch the energetic cading of union officials. But a document has now ten obtained which shows low management's decisions un closure are based entirely in commercial grounds. The document, produced *ternally by the company, as been shown already to all Mant 'participation' committees.

In other words, virtually recry right wing union sonvenor and leading steward • Leyland knew its content • May of this year.

national and sexual oppression.

For more details on the WSL fill in the form below.

Address Irade L factor in Leyland's rejection of At that time the company was proclaiming a dire financial crisis, and publicly airing four alternative "plans" -stopping production throughout Leyland for half an hour while foremen read out the options.

Plan A: Carry on as planned, but with productivity stepped up to levels "at least equalling the levels of our European competitors."

Plan B: Cancel the planned new Mini, and restrict the plans B., C'and 'D': medium car range-creating 30,000 redundancies by 1980.

Plan C: Concentrate on specialist cars only-from the Princess upwards. This would mean 50,000 redundancies by 1979.

Plan D: Concentrate on specialist cars but include limited production of the new Mini and other cars. This would be a move towards withdrawal from volume cars.

As these "options" were released every right winger and many 'lefts' began running to urge acceptance of Plan A.

They pledged to accept all kinds of speed-up in order to do this.

Forefront

The Communist Party was at the forefront of those selling Plan A-producing a special pamphlet on it.

When the company finally declared for Plan A every "participation" supporter announced this was the result of their pressure.

In reality the company decision was based on an assessment of the repercussions involved in implementing the other schemes.

On marketing, for instance, the company background document examines the problem posed by implementing Plan and producing only specialist cars with high fuel consumption at a time of diminishing availability of petrol.

Sharp reduction

If Plan D were adopted, and Leyland began to pull out of volume cars, then there would be a sharp reduction in the UK dealer network.

But if Plans B or C-pruning back to concentrate entirely on specialist vehicles - were implemented, the document predicts:

'There would be a high risk of a "collapse" in the UK network leading to uncontrollable defections which would make the distribution of the remaining narrow product range virtually impossible."

In other words volume cars are necessary if only to help sell expensive cars.

The document also examines the effect of the various job-cutting options on industrial relations.

Pointing to the interdependence of Leyland plants the report shows that even if the savage cut-backs of Plans B and C were adopted:

'There are no models which would be required to be produced which could not be stopped by a plant which was being affected by the run-down.

Alternative B would probably result eventually m a return to production but only after a period of intense bitterness and with no pletely unproven."

One key advantage of Plan , the company report adds, s that the union leaders and management would work together implementing speed-up.

New Leyland boss Edwardes And in the next section, "Financial Viability', the document goes on to reveal that Plan A has the potential of being substantially more profitable than the rest.

The document completely dismisses the prospect of the specialist cars surviving on their own-a slogan beloved by the right wing:

"The historic non-survival of Rover, Triumph and Jaguar was due to their inability to expand their facilities or to update their model ranges unlike BMW or Mercedes Benz, and for them to be viable a far greater expansion than is practicable would be required."

The specialist car firms were previously unable to survive alone-and now with increased competition, their chances must be even slimmer concludes the report.

In other words, the Leyland monopoly flowed out of the economic necessities of capitalism, and the trend towards such monopolies cannot now be reversed.

Leyland's Plan A is not motivated by charity or by weakening in the face of pressure from union officials.

It is a conscious response to the economic crisis and a deliberate move to utilise these officials and convenors in imposing drastic speed-up on production tracks in pursuit of maximum profits.

----- pull-quotes -----

unspoken coalition arrangement. socialist planned economy.