Vauxhall is reported to wish to make the redundancies at its Cheshire factory as part of a cutback in the production of its Astra model.

When the MG Rover factory closed last year, the Chancellor visited to offer aid packages to the staff.

The Treasury said it was "possible" Mr Brown may visit Ellesmere Port.

Reviewing production

Union leaders said they feared Wednesday was now the likely day for the redundancies at the factory to be announced.

A spokesman for the Transport and General Workers' Union described talks on Monday in Germany with Vauxhall's parent firm General Motors (GM) Europe as "difficult".

Vauxhall made no comment.

The threat of 1,000 people, or two-thirds of the workforce, losing their jobs at the site was first revealed last week, sparking a wildcat strike.

It followed after GM Europe said it was reviewing production capacity across its three Astra plants in Europe as it expects demand for the car to decline.

UK Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said on Monday that the government had been in contact with both sides at Vauxhall.

"The government is being kept fully informed and once we know what General Motors' position is, we can say something further," he said.

Mr Darling added that he held out hope that the Ellesmere Port factory could be chosen by Vauxhall to build a new model in the future.

'Dignity'

The Amicus trade union is threatening to take its car fleet deal away from Vauxhall if the firm cuts jobs at its Ellesmere Port car plant.

"Unless GM are prepared to treat decent men and women in Britain with some dignity we will cancel our Ј8m ($15m) contract for Vauxhall cars," said Amicus General Secretary Derek Simpson.

"We will encourage our members to buy their cars from a manufacturer who supports the British economy and urge other unions to do the same.

"We will be meeting with Japanese manufacturers who employ UK workers and explore options for sourcing our car fleet from them."