Hopes rise at Ellesmere Port as Vauxhall hint at Astra production Uncertainty has surrounded the plant since February, when Vauxhall's parent company General Motors (GM) disclosed that its European arm had lost £355m in 2011. The car maker has been negotiating with Unite over working practices at the plant. Karl-Friedrich Stracke, the head of the European arm, today appeared to point to plans for the Cheshire site to stay open, as he said that future Astra production would be concentrated on just two plants instead of the current three of Ellesmere Port, and sites in Germany and Poland. The expectation is that the British site will be one of the two chosen, as Mr Stracke said GM wants to produce cars "where it sells them" and the UK is a major market. A Government spokesman would not confirm reports that the Business Secretary is pencilled in for a visit to Ellesmere Port on Thursday, which tonight stoked hopes for an announcement. The company denied Steve Girsky, GM's vice chairman, will attend.