Union leaders today threatened to take industrial action after a decision by the French car giant PSA Peugeot Citroen to close its Ryton plant near Coventry with the loss of 2,300 jobs.
There was a show of hands at a mass meeting among workers but it is unclear whether action will follow.
Dawn McGuckin, a 39-year-old track worker, said: "The unions are talking about striking, but that's not going to do us any good... The unions want to fight but it's a waste of time, they'll just shut us down sooner."
Charlie Giles, who has worked at the site for 19 years, echoed the sentiments.
The 54-year-old body shop worker said: "The convenors were saying they want us to go all the way with strike action. I personally think it's the wrong way to go about things, they should be getting around the table with management, negotiating a deal to benefit workers."
"We're back at work tomorrow. You would have thought they (the union) would have given us a bit more time to get over the shock. I think there will be strike action but I don't think it will be everybody."
Asked about the Ryton closure during prime minister's question time, Tony Blair expressed regret over the move but said such job cuts were "inevitable" because of global pressures.
Despite Ryton, other car firms based in the UK, including Land Rover, Mini and Toyota were increasing productivity, the prime minister noted.
"It is inevitable that from time to time there will be these losses. It is extremely important to recognise that overall the industry is strong," Mr Blair said.
Mr Blair added 200,000 people remained employed by car firms in the UK and the industry was worth £10bn a year. But the Tory leader David Cameron said the closure was a symptom of a loss of economic competitiveness under Labour.
The government pledged to help find good jobs for the workers facing redundancy. Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson said he wanted to see manufacturing retained at the site after the car factory closes in the summer of next year.
Mr Johnson, who met union officials, councillors and leaders of job creation agencies, said there was a feeling of "disquiet and despair" among the workers set to be laid off.
Peugeot, which is moving production to Slovakia, has been hit by weak sales in its main markets in western Europe.
Peugeot's chief executive, Jean-Martin Folz, said Ryton had to close because its distance from suppliers on the European mainland meant its costs were higher than those of any other plant in the PSA group.
Modernising the factory to enable it to build a new model would have cost 250m euros and closing the plant was the only viable economic decision, he said.
"Even after these investments, Ryton would have stayed the most expensive plant in our organisation," Mr Folz insisted.
But union officials accused him of reneging on a commitment given a year ago to consult with unions before any move was taken.
The decision to close another site in Britain's traditional manufacturing heartland, follows last year's collapse of MG Rover which cost 5,000 jobs.
Peugeot said it would consult trade unions and provide a support package for staff with the aim of helping as many workers as possible find alternative employment.
Messages of support had been sent from French unions, which were prepared to join the campaign to save Ryton, union officials said.
Roger Maddison of Amicus said Peugeot's position was different from that of MG Rover and Jaguar because the French firm was making billions of euros "year in, year out".
The Peugeot 206 model, which is made at Ryton, had added to the profits and unions believed the plant was profitable.
"This is a case of corporate greed and a betrayal of the workforce. We believe our members will recognise that and will fight to do something about it," Mr Maddison said.
