UK trade unions urge Peugeot boycott

Plans to close the Peugeot factory at Ryton near Coventry in central England, with the loss of 2,300 jobs, have led to calls from two of Britain’s largest trade unions for people in the UK not to buy the French manufacturer’s Peugeot and Citroen cars.

The head of the Amicus union, Derek Simpson, said: “What the French people do when they’re threatened with these sorts of situations – you almost believe it couldn’t happen in France – well all we’re saying, without getting dramatic, is that the British people, with their sense of fair play, have the right to know the facts, and if they respond in the traditional way, Peugeot, and anyone else, will have to rethink its strategies.”

The unions will spend nearly 1.5 million euros on a poster and advertising campaign, in the hope that the threat of a drop in sales will cause the company to to keep the plant open.

Britain is Peugeot-Citroen’s third-largest market after France and Spain.

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