With 15 minutes' notice and no payouts, 100 staff at a Honda dealership group in Gloucestershire were made redundant.

Employees at Amethyst Motor Group – which has dealerships in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Chippenham – are coming to terms with redundancy just before Christmas.

They are the latest victims of the dramatic global decline in car sales which has claimed thousands of jobs in the past few weeks. But there is a small glimmer of hope for the West workers as it emerged yesterday that Honda is trying to find a new buyer for the group. According to reports from former employees, Amethyst's showrooms in Cheltenham and Chippenham were making a profit, but the Gloucester dealership was running at a loss, which forced the firm into administration.

A statement from Honda said: "Honda UK is sad to confirm that Amethyst Motor Group – which has Honda dealerships in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Chippenham – has ceased trading. We are now holding discussions with interested parties to secure new ownership of the Honda franchises."

Unconfirmed reports suggest talks are under way with Volvo dealer Johnsons, which already has a branch Gloucester, as well as Slough, Solihull and the Midlands.

In a letter to staff on Wednesday, Amethyst Motor Company director Roger Moore said: "I am writing with great sadness and regret to confirm that despite your considerable efforts to ensure the future of the company, the board has resolved that the company is facing imminent insolvency. It is therefore necessary for the company to terminate the employment of all of its employees for reasons of redundancy with immediate effect."

Employees, who turned up at their place of work the next day to retrieve their own tools from the workshops, and their personal belongings, were met with shut doors. Customers' cars were locked in garages still requiring work.

It is the latest blow to the automobile industry which has been battered this year by people regining in big purchases because of food and fuel inflation, tougher mortgage deals caused by the credit freeze, job insecurity and a looming recession.

Already this week, UK engineering group GKN announced 2,000 redundancies in its automotive division and Honda announced it is reducing production at its Swindon plant.

At the end of September, Bristol car dealership Street Skoda closed with the loss of 18 jobs.

In July Nottingham-based car dealership Pendragon cut 500 jobs "after a sharp decline in used and new car sales".

It is the same story around the world, with the giants of the automobile industry suffering as much as anyone else.

Last week American car-maker Chrysler cut 5,000 white-collar jobs blaming "unimaginable times" in the automotive industry as sales of new vehicles evaporate. In France, Peugeot Citroen warned the European car market would tumble 17 per cent in the current quarter while Fiat forecast a 20 per cent sales fall. Swedish bus and trucks group Volvo reported a 37 per cent fall in profits as demand dries up all over the world.