ABSTRACT
Coventry's economy has come almost full circle since 1880. The halcyon days of the boom town image–high wages and almost no unemployment, have gone. Despite the expansionist policies pursued during the early period of the Heath government, in general the UK economy performed no better in the 1970s than in the previous decade. Chrysler's Employee Participation Programme was a progressive document which offered significant benefits to shop floor workers. It involved the establishment of a series of Plant Employee Representation Committees (PERC) to discuss the review with management the on-going operations of the plants. The rescue agreement involved the loss of some 8,000 jobs, mainly at Ryton and Stoke, and a number of major changes in work organization. The real test of Peugeot's intentions towards the Ryton plant will come in the late 1980s when new investment will be needed to replace existing production models.
