Ford will assign a new vehicle to the Almussafes factory that will "maintain sufficient workload"

UGT highlights that "there will be solutions for Almussafes" and explains that they will have to "design the traffic" until this car becomes a reality

Ford's global management has committed to assigning the Almussafes (Valencia) factory the production of a passenger vehicle with which the factory will "maintain sufficient workload" while the future of electrification is decided, as explained by the majority union in the plant, UGT.

This was conveyed by the global president of the firm, Jim Farley, to the workers' representatives at the meeting held this Wednesday between Ford's global and European management and the European Works Council in Dunton (England), which for the union concluded "in a positive and constructive way." On April 10, the details of this assignment will be delved into at a new meeting that will take place in Cologne.

It was expected that this meeting would be key to specifying what was advanced by the vice president of Ford of Europe, Kieran Caghill, in a meeting with the union last February, in which he stated that the company was "working on an alternative to solve the problem "which has originated in the factory due to the uncertainty that the electric car currently generates, without investments having been made, at a time when production of the Transit van will also stop on April 17 and Almussafes had only planned the manufacturing of the Kuga model.

Thus, this Thursday, the European Works Council reported, in a statement, that during Wednesday's meeting "opportunities and next steps" for the future of the firm were identified and that "this includes a passenger vehicle that will be added to the range planned in Europe, which will be manufactured in Valencia".

"In accordance with our normal process, this will be subject to program approval" and "more information about these opportunities will be shared in the coming weeks," the European Committee has indicated.

UGT has added, in a statement to workers, that "the first and main" conclusion of the meeting is that "there will be solutions for Almussafes although logically it will not be a matter of a few days."

"The commitment of Ford's global CEO, Jim Farley, has been clear. Almussafes will have a new vehicle and will maintain a sufficient workload," highlighted the union, which considers that "this decision demonstrates the company's commitment to Valencia, as a result of the Agreement for Electrification".

UGT has pointed out that "the main thing is resolved, which does not mean that everything is resolved", and has explained that there will be a new meeting on April 10 in Cologne and, "once the number of units to be manufactured has been quantified, as well as the employment that it will guarantee, and the investment and launch dates, we will have to design the transit to be carried out until that car is a reality on the manufacturing lines," he added.

In this way, "in the coming weeks" there will be "a clearer x-ray of the situation", on which UGT will give its opinion. For now, he has concluded that the meeting in Dunton has been "satisfactory" and has insisted that "there will be solutions."

The majority union in Almussafes has highlighted that the staff "enjoys the respect and recognition of the company's global management, a consequence of many years of experience, both for the abilities to take on challenges and for the agreements reached."

In addition, he detailed that the meeting analyzed "the current and future situation of the automobile in Europe and the United States, and the interest that the sector market arouses in new emerging competitors, mainly Asian who, added to the delay in electrification , complicates decision making."

THE UNCERTAINTY BEFORE ELECTRIFICATION

The commitment of global management comes at a time when the Almussafes factory has extended the Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE) that is in force until April 19, which affects a maximum of 700 people per day. in vehicle plants, because the launch of the Kuga model will not increase its production due to "supplier problems" until that day. Added to this is that the 17th of that month will be the last day of production of the Transit van, which would leave Almussafes alone with the manufacturing of the Kuga.

The factory has faced uncertainty for months about the arrival of the necessary investments to produce the oval firm's electric vehicles. The Valencian factory was chosen in 2022 to produce its new electric vehicle platform starting in 2025, but the necessary investments for this have not materialized or been announced and last November Ford announced that it was postponing "any decision that has to do with investments". While investments have not started, the factory has had to adjust its production due to reduced sales.

In principle, electrification was to ensure the workload in the coming years in Almussafes, which led to an agreement with UGT so that the company's new agreement included salary and flexibility measures conditional on electrification. The award to Almussafes did not prevent the workforce from having to be resized with an ERE that has affected 1,124 workers.

The uncertainty at Ford also affects an auxiliary industry with a lot of weight in the Valencian economy. Last October, the president of the Automotive and Mobility Cluster of the Valencian Community (Avia), Francisco Segura, admitted that "the delay in new electric vehicles" was "causing problems, especially in terms of employment, vision, perspective and to see what the production planning is going to be", although he rejected "generating alarm" about the effects of production slowdowns and stops.

The company has applied for both lines of the new call for the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of the Electric and Connected Vehicle (Perte VEC II). The Ministry of Industry has awarded 37.6 million euros from the battery line to establish a battery assembly plant at the Almussafes factory and Ford has also requested aid for the electric vehicle value chain.