Car manufacturer Ford is planning to cut around 150 transportation jobs during the next two years as part of a major restructuring of its European division.
The restructuring, announced last week, will also see the loss of 1,000 jobs at the manufacturer’s plant in Brigend, South Wales. The cuts are part of a major restructuring at the manufacturer, driven by falling diesel car sales in Europe and exacerbated in the UK by economic uncertainty created by Brexit.
The news follows Jaguar Land Rover’s announcement of plans to cut over 4,000 management jobs in a number of its UK plants.
Unite the Union warned this week that Ford’s plans to cut jobs at its transportation division would hit lorry drivers across the country.
Des Quinn, Unite’s national officer for the automotive industry, said the jobs cuts were “a devastating blow” for members and their families, with “grave implications for the Welsh economy and the supply chain”.
He called on the government to do more to help the UK’s car industry. “There are a number of factors behind this grim news – the main ones being challenging market conditions for carmakers generally, a lack of a coherent industrial strategy from the UK government and the uncertainty created by Brexit,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Ford said the firm had no specific details around the cuts yet.
She added said the firm’s restructuring plans include “a strong focus on our structural costs, which we will provide the full details of once we have completed negotiations with our union partners and other stakeholders. Our focus, however, includes those markets where we have the majority of our employees and operations, namely Germany and the UK".
“The strategy will result in fewer jobs – both hourly and salaried – but it is premature to speculate on how many as we have just begun discussions with our Works Council and union partners.
"So far as possible, we aim to achieve the reduction in labor costs through voluntary employee separations and will be working closely with social partners and other stakeholders,” she added.
