A third of the Vauxhall workforce faces being axed by the car-maker’s new owners.

Leaked figures show job cuts at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port and Luton factories will be at nearly twice the rate of those at German sister company Opel, where just one in every six car workers may lose their job.

Vauxhall is set to lose 1,375 jobs – nearly 31 per cent of workers – by 2011. By contrast, job cuts at Germany’s four Opel factories will hit 16.6 per cent of staff – a drop of 4,116 to 20,584.

The cuts follow the £600million sale of Vauxhall and its German sibling Opel to a consortium led by Canadian car-parts firm Magna, which has links to Oleg Deripaska.

Russia’s richest man is described as the firm’s ‘industrial backer’, and he is a friend of Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary.

Previously Magna had suggested that the UK would share job losses ‘pro rata’ with a 20 per cent reduction in workers.

The Magna deal was done after German Chancellor Angela Merkel put up a £4.5billion loan to ensure its success just weeks before her nation’s general election this Sunday.

Furious unions say Britain was the victim of a German ‘stitch up’ and are concerned that Lord Mandelson – who backed the Magna deal – failed to do enough to protect British interests.

They want meetings with the Business Secretary and bosses of Magna, which bought Vauxhall and Opel from U.S. giant General Motors.

Tony Woodley, of transport union Unite, said Magna’s plans would safeguard Opel ‘while running down the UK operation’.

But Magna said it was committed to Britain and to the retention of the Vauxhall name.

A spokesman for Lord Mandelson’s department said: ‘We have had assurances from Magna that Ellesmere Port and Luton will remain open for the foreseeable future.’