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 company. 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 leadership and the European Works Council in Dunton (United Kingdom), which the union said 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 (Germany).
The decision represents a respite for the Almussafes factory, which as of April 17 was left with a single manufacturing model – the Kuga, since it stops producing the Transit van – and which, in addition, is immersed in a file of temporary employment regulation (ERTE) until the 19th of that same month. The assignment of a new model ensures the immediate future of the factory, which has a workforce of close to 4,800 people.
In just six years, the Valencian plant has gone from producing almost 370,000 cars in 2018 of five different models to manufacturing just under 212,000 last year, which represents a drop of 42%. In between, the center, in addition to facing the imminent loss of the van, stopped making the Mondeo, the S-Max and the Galaxy.
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 investments necessary for this have not materialized or been announced and in November, Ford announced that it was postponing “any decision that has to do with investments.” .
Wednesday’s meeting therefore seemed key to finalizing what was advanced by the vice president of Ford of Europe, Kieran Caghill, in a meeting with the union in February. At that meeting, the workers were told that the company was “working on an alternative to solve the problem” that has originated in the factory due to the uncertainty that the electric car currently generates.
More workload
Finally this Thursday, the European Works Council reported, in a statement, that during the 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 planned range in Europe, which will be manufactured in Valencia.”
In a statement to the workers of the Valencian plant, UGT has stated 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.” “Ford Global CEO Jim Farley’s commitment 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, a consequence of the Agreement for Electrification.”
UGT has pointed out that “the main thing is resolved, which does not mean that everything is resolved.” “Once the number of units to be manufactured has been quantified, as well as the employment 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. The union has stressed that the staff “enjoys the respect and recognition of the company’s global management, as a result of many years of experience, both for their 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 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.
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 lower 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. However, the freezing of electrification plans by the management, mainly due to the fact that the sale of electric cars is not taking off, set off all the alarms for the future of the plant.
Reindustrialization of the country
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has considered that the decision is “magnificent news for Valencia, Spain and Ford workers in Spain.” “The company’s decision to produce new vehicles guarantees the viability of the Almussafes plant for the coming years. We are committed to the reindustrialization of our country. The long-term work of this Government together with the autonomous communities bears fruit,” he stated on his X account (former Twitter).
The Valencian automotive cluster, represented by the Valencian Association of the Automotive Industry (AVIA) and emerged as a result of Ford’s installation in Almussafes in 1976, has been one of the first to react positively to the allocation of the new vehicle. The tractor effect of the factory generates nearly 25,000 direct jobs pending for the multinational that has an important supplier base in the town 20 kilometers from Valencia. The president of AVIA, Francisco Segura, has indicated that the news “is always positive”, although for associates “it is very important to know the dates and volumes” to be able to “correctly plan” the work of all suppliers.
Segura has highlighted in a statement that the entire value chain of the automotive and mobility sector “is more than prepared to undertake the provision of components, whatever the vehicle model that the Almussafes plant houses.” He has recognized that this announcement is important “to maintain confidence that the Almussafes plant remains in the development plans” of the multinational, and has shown his confidence that Ford will develop the Valencian plant sooner rather than later.
Ford 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.