Hopes of a settlement for the protesting Visteon workers in Belfast rose today.
The staff are set to meet with union officials who have just returned from New York talks with management, with a spokesman for the union Unite saying he was optimistic.
Visteon was closed after making massive losses which were subsidised by its US parent company.
“It seems to be the only thing there left to me is to try and get the best financial settlement for people who have lost their jobs,” he said.
About 210 workers in Belfast have held a sit-in since managers announced the closure of the car components company’s operations 10 days ago. Protests had spread to plants in Enfield, north London, and Basildon, Essex.
The union spokesman added: “There seems to be no possibility at all of the plants remaining open, no possibility of them coming out of administration.”
Former owner Ford, which sold the operation in 2000, has come under pressure to intervene from workers who want their Ford contracts honoured. They are pressing for a better redundancy package.
Yesterday a few hundred workers turned out for a rally to the west Belfast factory.
Belfast councillors are to debate a motion today calling on the Northern Ireland ministerial executive to intervene.
PA