UNION leaders representing more than 1,000 East Lancashire workers have voiced concerns over the future of LucasVarity - and its huge pension fund.

The firm, which owns aerospace and car component factories in Burnley and Accrington, is currently the subject of a £4billion takeover battle between airbags-to-aerospace group TRW and brakes maker Federal-Mogul, both American.

Yesterday it was announced that 750 jobs were to be axed at the Lucas Sei plant near Swansea in South Wales in a move unconnected with the takeover battle.

But union leaders have expressed reservations about a potential takeover.

"Before Lucas merged with American firm Varity we were assured there were benefits for everyone but that hasn't been the case," said Mike Cooney, regional officer for the AEEU who represents workers at the East Lancashire sites.

"There have been job losses and a change in culture throughout the company and it is very much an American-run firm now."

Mr Cooney said a takeover by an American firm would be a major blow to the future of British-owned industry.

And the Manufacturing, Science and Finance union has also warned that the multi-billion pound pension fund at car parts maker LucasVarity could be under threat as a result of a takeover. Roger Lyons, general secretary of the white collar, claimed while potential buyers said they wanted to reap the benefits of the deal, they also wanted access to LucasVarity's £1billion pension surplus.

"The £4 billion in the fund and the £1 billion surplus is very attractive indeed," he said.

While the vast fund only had to support around 15,000 working members in the UK, it was also paying for the retirement of 40,000 pensioners, he said.

Despite tougher rules on safeguarding employees' pensions following the Robert Maxwell saga at Mirror Group Newspapers, LucasVarity's staff were still potentially in danger, he said.

He was particularly worried about the status of the pension in the event of LucasVarity being broken up by its new owner.

This would lead to the pension fund also becoming fragmented and difficult to safeguard. The MSF union would be seeking protection from pension watchdogs and the Department of Trade and Industry, he added.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.