Thousands of Vauxhall car workers are facing fresh uncertainty about their jobs after the business was sold to a Canadian firm.
A day of drama and confusion ended with confirmation by parent company General Motors that it had decided to sell its European operations to car parts giant Magna, backed by the Russian Sberbank.
Union officials said the sale would preserve more jobs in Germany than in other European countries where GM has factories.
Workers leaving Vauxhall plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton said they felt "devastated" by the development, following earlier speculation that GM had decided against a sale.
A female factory worker at Ellesmere Port said: "We don't know what's going on. We're not quite sure yet. Everybody's quite fed up about it. We found out by news clips on the radio, and we don't get told properly. There was no announcement to us. We're just not very happy about it at all."
Another worker said: "I'm absolutely devastated. For the simple reason it doesn't secure the long-term future for this place. The morale is low, considering GM said this morning they were keeping hold of it. We were buoyant coming into work and absolutely decimated coming out of work. It has a knock-on effect, doesn't it? It could have adverse effects on this place."
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said that he was "satisfied" with Magna's commitment to Vauxhall's plants after having had a series of meetings with the company in recent months.
"I'm glad the immediate uncertainty about GM's future has been removed," Lord Mandelson said.
"We must now hope this GM/Magna/Russian deal will bring stability in the longer term.
"I have had four face-to-face meetings with Magna in the last couple of months. I am satisfied about their commitment to Vauxhall's plants. The Government will now discuss our share of the funding of the deal and I expect to tie down the details of this in the near future."
