A drop in car sales in Europe means that the plant, which employs 2,200 staff, will shut for two days this week and for two working weeks from October 20.

The Ellesmere Port plant builds 650 vehicles a day, on average, with 46 per cent of its production exported primarily to Spain, Germany and Italy.

The 14-day shutdown will mean 9,000 fewer vehicles produced at the site which earlier this year had been calling staff in to work extra hours to meet increased demand.

Across Europe, Vauxhall's parent company, General Motors, has said it plans to reduce production by 40,000 vehicles as sales slump in the face of the current economic downturn.

General Motors' sites in Germany, Poland, Luton and Spain are all being affected.

A spokesman for the Unite union said the 2,200 workers at the Ellesmere Port plant would still get paid despite the stoppages.

Former Chester city councillor John Fetherston, of the Transport and General Workers Union, is due to meet with other union representatives from across Europe today to discuss the company's plans to reduce production.