The launch of the Rover 75 car was overshadowed when the company warned unions that, unless radical changes in working practices were accepted, the Longbridge car factory in Birmingham would close.
The six-week deadline was levelled after BMW, which owns Rover, froze a potential £2bn investment programme at the plant.
Closure or cutbacks would be a severe blow to the motor industry, its suppliers and dealers, says The Daily Telegraph.
Financial Times 21/10/98 page 1
The Times 21/10/98 page 1, page 26
The Independent 21/10/98 page 16
The Daily Telegraph 21/10/98 page 1, page 2, page 35 (City Comment)
