Closure ‘not due to Brexit’
THE head of Ford of Europe has insisted the decision last month to close the firm’s engine plant at Bridgend with the loss of 1,700 jobs was not directly linked to concerns about Brexit.
THE head of Ford of Europe has issued a fresh warning that a no-deal Brexit would be a “catastrophe” for the motor industry.
Chairman Steven Armstrong said the motor giant would have to look again at its manufacturing “footprint” in the UK in the event of a disorderly departure from the EU.
Giving evidence to the Commons Welsh Affairs Committee, Mr Armstrong insisted the decision last month to close the firm’s engine plant at Bridgend with the loss of 1,700 jobs was not directly linked to concerns about Brexit.
However, he said that if the firm were to face tariffs and “frictions” at the border as a result of a no-deal Brexit, it would put a “significant burden” on their business.
Mr Armstrong said the decision to close Bridgend followed a sharp fall in forecast demand for the new Dragon engine which was to have been built at the plant.
“In the last two years or so there has been a significant change in the dynamic in the auto industry. We have seen a shift out of internal combustion engines towards more electrified products,” he said.
“The volume for the Dragon engine globally has reduced. We have the capacity to make Dragon engines in Mexico, in Bridgend and in India. We don’t have the volume to fill each of those.”
Around 400 staff have left Ford in Bridgend under a previous redundancy offer, before the announcement to close the plant was made.
Mr Armstrong says: “The most difficult decision I or anyone in my position has had to take. We understand the consequences of that, their employees, their family and the community.
“We’ve been talking a long time about the implications of a hard Brexit. I want to make it very clear the sustainability of the Bridgend plant is not directly linked to whether we do or don’t believe there will be a hard Brexit. Brexit is not the reason.”
He told the committee that Bridgend is an efficient plant and said the decision to consult on closure wasn’t due to the staff. But he added that the downturn in demand means the factory will no longer be sustainable.
“Without another product from Ford or another, the plant is not sustainable,” he said. “We’re not the kind of company which shafts our British workers. We care about our workers and very much about market in Britain and continue to have a very strong industrial footprint in Britain.”
Labour’s Cardiff North MP Anna McMorrin asked if it was true that workers were told that if they went on strike before the end of the rundown period, redundancy payments would not be met.
Mr Armstrong responded: “No, that’s not true at all. We have a redundancy package which I think is very generous.
“We also have a continuity payment which is not part of the base separation programme which they will be paid if we continue to produce production throughout the period of the runout through 2020.”
Conservative Guto Bebb asked if Mr Armstrong foresees any future for Ford in Wales. He replied: “We’re obviously going to be working with the taskforce, we had the first meeting last week.
“We’ll be looking to see what opportunities there are for the site in Bridgend.
“If we do go forward with the proposed closure, of course we’ve committed £1m to put into the community in Bridgend to help mitigate some of the impact of what we’ve done.”
He added: “Unless there is another Ford product, and there isn’t another Ford product, I don’t believe there will be a Ford facility in Bridgend once we’ve been through the final decision process.”
Peter Hughes, Wales regional secretary for the Unite union, said there was “a lot of anger” at the plant because people don’t know what they were going to do.
He said: “The minute it leaves Bridgend, there’s nothing left for Ford in Wales. We built Ford, they didn’t do it.
“They are deserting Wales, they are deserting the UK.”
He added: “Ford are accountable... It’s killing people’s livelihoods, killing the community. It’s heartwrenching seeing people who think it’s a good package to go.”
Asked what the Welsh Government has done to try to get Ford to reverse its decision, transport minister Ken Skates said conversations are happening with Ford, a letter has been sent to president James Hackett and they have said if there is no decision to keep it open, there needs to be a “legacy offer”. Mr Skates said 17 opportunities have been found for the site and that the Welsh Government is confident they can “attract significant employers into the area”.