Car workers at Ellesmere Port were today awaiting a formal announcement of job cuts from General Motors Europe, the parent company of Vauxhall.

GM Europe all but confirmed that the 1,000 jobs at the Vauxhall plant on Merseyside will be axed.

"It was a long and difficult discussion. We are going to announce the outcome on Wednesday after we have informed our workforce," a GM Europe spokesman said after talks that stretched into Monday night.

GM last week confirmed it was considering job cuts at Ellesmere Port after the GM Europe president, Carl-Peter Forster, described proposals by unions to spread output reduction over other GM plants in Europe as "not super-attractive".

Workers at Ellesmere Port last week walked out in response to Mr Forster's comments, bringing production to a standstill.

Derek Simpson, the general secretary of the Amicus union, was meeting MPs today to present "irrefutable proof" that weak UK labour laws have made the UK a soft touch for foreign firms wishing to lay people off.

"Britain has highly skilled workers and the most productive plants, as well as the biggest market for motor vehicles. Yet UK workers are the first to be laid off because weak UK labour laws are being exploited by employers," Mr Simpson said.

The union is planning a national campaign and has already warned Vauxhall it would end its own, £8m contract with the company and buy from one of its rivals if it makes significant job losses at Ellesmere Port.

More than 1 million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the UK since 1997, Amicus pointed out, adding that when people working in manufacturing are made redundant they rarely find another comparable job.

But the loss-making GM is also laying off thousands of workers in the US, where it is coming under strong pressure from foreign manufacturers, especially Toyota.

In April, GM, the world's biggest carmaker, reported losses of $323m (£181m) in the first three months of 2006, after losing $1.3bn in the same period last year. GM is axing 30,000 jobs and closing 12 North American plants, as well as cutting top executive pay as part of a restructuring programme.

Job losses at Ellesmere Port would be the latest blow to Britain's car industry. The French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen plans to close its plant near Coventry next year, eliminating 2,300 jobs, and the collapse of MG Rover last year cost 6,000 jobs.