WORKERS at a car parts maker in the region have been reassured that a proposed takeover involving a Spanish company will not jeopardise jobs. ThyssenKrupp Tallent, the biggest employer in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is reportedly in talks over the sale of its parts division to a consortium which includes Gestamp Automocion, after the German steel company decided to concentrate on its core business.

Workers at the Aycliffe factory have been told that during negotiations with potential buyers the current owners have sought assurances that significant ongoing investment will be made in the North-East facility. However, the Northern Echo understands that one of the matters still to be resolved is for the new owners to take on the existing pension agreements for ThyssenKrupp staff, many of whom are on final salary schemes.

The firm employs about 800 permanent workers at its County Durham plant, specialising in the manufacture of chassis for some of the world's leading car makers, including Nissan, Ford, Jaguar, Volvo, Honda, and Land Rover.

The plant was hit hard during the recession when it was forced to lay off around 150 staff. An upturn in demand and the transfer of work from its plant in Bourn, Cambridgeshire handed Aycliffe a welcome jobs boost last year. ThyssenKrupp was believed to have been in initial discussions with a Chinese firm over a potential sale, but recent reports claim the company has entered exclusive talks with Gestamp which is working on the deal with a financial backer.

Gestamp is a major player in the car parts sector and has more than 70 locations worldwide. It opened its first UK facility in Sunderland in 2000 where it employed 70 people supplying part for the Nissan car plant. Within three years it re-located to a larger, high tech site in Washington, Wearside to accommodate a 170-strong workforce. But it too suffered a drop in demand during 2008 when it shed about 40 per cent of its workforce. Demand to produce parts for the Nissan Qashqai as well as orders from Jaguar and General Motors has taken employment levels back to their pre-recession peak.

Gestamp hails from the Basque region of Spain and has around 18,000 employees across 18 countries. Last year it generated revenue of about £2.5bn.