>From the BBC...
Alchemy plans sports car
Alchemy wants to focus on the MG marque
Rover buyer Alchemy Partners plans to link up with luxury car maker Lotus to
make an MG sports car.
The venture capital firm wants to develop the car by 2002.
Alchemy hopes to revive the MG brand by taking it back to motor racing,
eventually competing at the Le Mans race.
The company unveiled a draft business plan on Monday evening, but it still
didn't offer any clues as to how many jobs will be lost at the Rover plant in
Longbridge.
Taking MG to the US
Alchemy had previously said that it wants to turn Rover into a niche car
maker, focused on the MG marque.
It now also wants to take MG back into the US.
MG cars have not been sold in the US for 20 years and Alchemy said it would
"take urgent action to re-enter this market".
In its draft business plan it also said it hopes to take on contract
production of other cars.
Alchemy has already approached Lotus Engineering, a division of Lotus Cars,
with plans to develop a sports model.
The Lotus group makes sports cars and used to run a Formula One Team. Lotus
Engineering provides car makers with technical expertise, services and
engineering support.
No news on jobs
Alchemy provided no further clues as to future job losses, when it unveiled
its business plan.
Up to 4,000 jobs are expected to go at the Birmingham plant if the Alchemy
bid is completed, as it intends to scale back production.
The West Midlands is expected to be badly hit by the sale - some estimates
are that up to 50,000 jobs in the region depend on Rover.
Alchemy says it will work with a government task force to minimise the social
impact of its purchase of the loss-making subsidiary of German car company
BMW.
The company has promised to honour workers' redundancy rights.
But Tony Woodley of the Transport and General Workers Union said the
"significant things are what they have failed to tell us; they have failed to
indentify the number of job losses, they have failed to tell us how many will
keep their jobs and they haven't told us what redundancy terms they are
offering to the many thousands who we know will lose their jobs."
Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers has called on BMW to give serious
consideration to a new offer for Rover.
This new bid is expected to safeguard more jobs than the Alchemy bid.
The bid has come from a consortium including Rover's former chief executive
John Towers, and is thought to be worth about £2bn.
Alchemy boss Jon Moulton dismissed the new bid as not being a real
competitor, saying there was "no real sign" that it had any finance behind
it.
Being a small mass-producer of cars was "a doomed strategy", he said.
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