Ford is doing their best to keep their head above water in the European market, but at this point it’s not looking so hot. They are working around the clock in preparation of losses totaling more than $1.5billion which is upsetting news for any automaker and especially Ford as they have been doing so well in making a big comeback from the previous financial ruin felt by American automakers across the board. At this time, two of Ford’s plants are being shut down which will put 6,500 employees out of work in Southhampton and Dagenham, UK. Ford’s Genk Assembly Plant in Belgium will also be closing and more workers will be hung out to dry. Whether any of those workers will be able to transplant to other facilities has not been announced, but at this time there is no confirmation about that.
Ford’s business with their Turkish joint venture partner, Koc Holding is most likely to inherit any additional work that is left over from the European plants being shut down. The Ford Otosan business can make up to 320,000 Transits and has recently been expanded. It will however only be making about 250,000 vans total for this year due to lack of demand.
Nothing is finalized for Ford’s other European plants, one being an engine plant in Bridgend, Wales that employs 970 autoworkers. Ford also has an another engine manufacturing facility in Dagenham that has 2,970 workers, and another plant in a suburb of Liverpool England that has 720 workers producing transmissions.
John Gardiner, a spokesman at Ford’s European headquarters in Cologne, Germany, said, “We will make any further announcements at the appropriate time once the relevant stakeholders have been informed. Going forward, we will continue to assess the economic situation and all areas of our business and take appropriate action.”
Source Autonews