BBC report

It’s been on the cards I guess, but pretty devastating for my old home town

I don’t think they will be in the UK for that much longer

Sad news for the workers and surrounding area.

The legislation to phase out / reduce diesel engines and a downturn in the global market is mainly the cause I suspect.

BBC says there will be offers of redeployment but no indication of what that means.

It’s a sad state, Ford represents a huge part of Bridgend (town and county).

Sadly it seems it’s a kind of job that’s just not around any more. It was hard to get in, I know of people who applied 2/3 years before they started and they didn’t mess around with employing people. A friend was offered a job there, resigned from his job, 3 days before his start date he had his offer pulled. He’d applied saying he’d taken 2 days sick in the previous 12 months, in actual fact it was 3. They’re cut-off was 2 and that was is.

But the money was good, average salary of £45k a year for factory work? Plus perks, they could buy a new Ford at a huge discount every 2 years.

Maybe that’s the problem, the type of engines they made was end of life the 1.6 Ecoboost is 10 years old, The V8 they made for JLR / Volvo and formed the basis of the Aston V8 stopped production a few years ago. So they were looking at a big investment for retooling.

Spend all that money in a plant that has an average salary of £45k that in a country that has no idea what it’s import/export status will be in 5 months or invest in a country with a cheaper workforce that’s more stable?

Very sad for the workers.

I hate to say it but this is part of what us remoaners were concerned about, Global manufacturing businesses (like the automotive industry) would pulling out of the UK due to uncertainty and the potential for new trade tariffs…

But “told you so” is not really very comforting now is it.
Let’s hope Fords redeployment, retraining and government efforts to stimulate new employment actually come to something.

Isn’t it more to do with “B” than just leaving the area?

🤷‍♂️

+cookeaa

The legislation to phase out / reduce diesel engines and a downturn in the global market is mainly the cause I suspect.

They’ve used that reason a lot, but oddly I’m pretty certain they don’t make diesels in Bridgend. They made the 1.6 Ecoboost 4 pot and I’ve just read the brand new 1.5 3 pot EcoBoost, which is pretty much cutting edge.

So much for “it’s diesel, not Brexit eh?”

Ford don’t make diesel engines at the Bridgend plant. The bosses warned three years ago that closure was highly likely due to weaker sterling making the factory financially unviable. I wonder which way Bridgend voted in the referendum?

P-Jay, just looked up the new 1.5 ecoboost, seems the bridgend plant only started making it at the end of last year after £1mil investment.

“The fact remains that it is cheaper, easier and quicker to sack our workers than those in our competitor countries,”

And expect it to get easier after Brexit, boys.

<edit: too slow>

@bikebouy – I suspect the short term reasons are as noted above: reduced demand for both diesel engines and general global demand. Longer term businesses like certainty to help with planning so Brexit will be a larger factor due to both the gaping void that is the government’s direction and the likelihood of tariffs where previously there were none.

Sadly I don’t think it will the last “trans national” manufacturer to up sticks. Sticking with car manufacturers, trade deals like that between the EU and Japan are such that a percentage of the car, including parts, must be manufactured in the EU. Because of this the UK can export Jaguars, Land Rovers, etc. to Japan. Once we leave, we can’t because while we assemble the cars here most of the parts come from the rest of the EU. So we’ll have to negotiate a trade deal with Japan and goodness knows how long that will take.

Longer term businesses like certainty

Risk costs money, in short.

Brexit will make it more difficult for any international business to work here – it’s easy to see the logical conclusion.

But don’t worry, we’ll have a trade deal with the US all wrapped up in no time, and they definitely won’t stiff us. Not even a tiny little bit.

I wonder which way Bridgend voted in the referendum?

Sorry but I dislike the inference there that in some way those who voted for Brexit are those who most “deserve” to feel it’s bite…

As it turns out Bridgend was a close reflection of the overall UK result voting 54% Leave. But I don’t think that is in any way significant TBH…

Fair play to Ford not sticking a paddle in shit creek and saying, “if you vote leave we’re likely to pull the plug”. They allowed democracy it’s say first.

Sorry but I dislike the inference there that in some way those who voted for Brexit are those who most “deserve” to feel it’s bite…

Why on earth not? Seems eminently fair to me.

They voted to make the country poorer, more than happy for them to shoulder as much of it as possible. Likewise I’d prefer if it cuts to the NHS and Police only affected Tory voters. Might make people think twice about their future electoral choices…

Likewise I’d prefer if it cuts to the NHS and Police only affected Tory voters.

You only want people willing to pay for the NHS/Police to benefit from them? Privatisation of both would give you exactly that.

Why on earth not? Seems eminently fair to me

Well you have to caveat they with the fact that I assume many of those affected voted to remain.

I personally have no issues with the thinking that those who voted leave should have to live with the consequences, more so than those who voted remain.

However if we group whole areas as remain/stay then taking it a step further, if I lost my job due to brexit (And I’m a strong remainer), can I expect zero sympathy as ‘the UK’ voted to leave, and I’m part of the UK?

Or assuming you are English, if you lose your job can those of us in Scotland say you brought it upon yourself as the majority of your country voted to leave?

Fair play to Ford not sticking a paddle in shit creek and saying, “if you vote leave we’re likely to pull the plug”.

actually, they did pretty much do that.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/europe/eu-policy-agenda/brexit/news/76373/bosses-car-giant-ford-warn-firm-could-lose-millions

What 9 of 13 of the current Tory leadership candidates have said theyre fine with No Deal Brexit ….

Ford won’t be the last

So we’ll have to negotiate a trade deal with Japan and goodness knows how long that will take.

Imagine what they might have had waiting in the wings if we had only had the last 3 years to sort something out 🤔

Why on earth not? Seems eminently fair to me

I don’t like it because it simply serves to deepen the divides that lay at the core of Brexit to start with. Let’s be clear the Leave vote was as much about people registering their discontent with the wealthier middle/political classes (concentrated in the SE) and their condescending attitudes and lack of support for less affluent areas of the country as it was about a dislike of the EU, the Leave campaign managed to weaponise people’s “general discontent” and focus it on their chosen target…

Economic hardship isn’t going to be as neatly focussed on Leave voters as you would clearly like, so what do you tell the 46% of Bridgend residents who voted Remain and will still be affected by this? “It’s your own fault for choosing to live in a slightly Brexity area with a bit of manufacturing industry” that’s not really “electoral karma” that’s the same regionalism and social division that contributed to Brexit being reinforced by people who claim to want the opposite…

I’m not saying this sort of thing isn’t “reaping the whirlwind” of Brexit, simply that if you want to heal the social divides laid bare by Brexit then crowing at people as they joint the dole queue (metaphorically) and telling them it’s their own fault, is not going to win them round to your point of view.

Perhaps as this sort of thing is going to start happening more and more over the next couple of years, it would be better if those of us who voted Remain make a point of being constructive, sympathetic and possibly even offering useful suggestions like, I dunno, a confirmatory vote which might just allow people to graciously change their minds and mitigate some of damage having seen the initial effects of Brexit…

While I understand , and share, the whole dissatisfaction with the London centric bubble, I can’t imagine why people thought that over privileged toffs like Farage, Johnson and Rees-Mogg would have any more interest in their problems. I can’t see any of them jeopardising their political position for the sake of Bridgend or Sunderland

I can’t imagine why people thought

I suggest that therein lies the problem, many people will not have thought at all.

Because of this the UK can export Jaguars, Land Rovers, etc. to Japan. Once we leave, we can’t…

JLR already moved production of their new vehicles from the UK to Slovakia.

I know this because my brother-in-law and sister-in-law work for JLR and had to move their family out there. 🙁

Ford are also closing a transmission factory in blanquefort France (850 jobs) and in talks with German workers. 5000 jobs worldwide

@GrahamS – Which is exactly my point. Post Brexit we can’t produce cars for export to Japan (and other places) because those cars don’t meet their criteria for import. There are basically three options for JLR: find new markets (Iceland anyone?); move production to within the EU; wait for a new trade deal with Japan.

Hasn’t Liam Fox already sorted a trade deal with the Faroe Islands?

“”JLR already moved production of their new vehicles from the UK to Slovakia.

I know this because my brother-in-law and sister-in-law work for JLR and had to move their family out there””

I work at JLR Solihull, and we knew the Discovery was being moved to Slovakia before production even started in Solihull. It wasn’t moved because of Brexit, it was a long term plan. The body shop that was used to produce the Disvovery is currently being stripped out and made ready for the new hybrid Range Rover, there seems to be a lot of money invested in the Solihull site at the present time. Although the future doesn’t look amazing there doesn’t seem to be any real negativity and job fears.

as a 40 year old factory, think large sheds, and infrastructure all needs updating, along with staff on 45,000 per year, why not close it down sell all the assets or move them somewhere else or sell them to anyone that wants an engine assembly plant in a cheaper waged country, like BL did when i closed factories down.

We may still have the Toyota engine plant down the road at Queensferry,in Wales, and the Ford assembly plant in Halewood, Vauxhall in Ellesmere port looks like the next one to go, followed by other large engineering based companies.

Its turning speedily into the 1970,s again, unrest, political turmoil, strikes, and more.

Then add in the severe contraction in Banking, and retail services eg high street based shops and offices, uk plc is going to be third world in a decade

@Project What is the Ford plant at Halewood?

The one that makes the 4 x 4 cars for JLR, will always be known as the ford plant, to us locals.

Theres also Getrag transmissions half owned by Ford, and Ford Transmissions both at Halewood or Speke

Just one more manufacturing concern that cannot compete with cheaper foreign workers. Someone mentioned £45k for a production line operative? How can anyone realistically expect that to be sustainable? This isn’t about Brexit it’s about other countries being cheaper to manufacture in. Whilst companies are forced to chase profits for survival then this will continue to happen. ‘Buy British’ and if you have a problem with that (I’m sure many will) then I don’t think you can blame anyone but yourself for whatever’s left of UK manufacturing going the same way.

Sad to hear for the workers and economy.

45K? Factory worker? Earning more than some graduates.

History of the mk3 escort too.

This isn’t about Brexit

I don’t have a link to hand but I read it this morning, Ford themselves said it was due to brexit “in part.” It’s not totally the fault of brexit, true, but you cannot deny that it’s unrelated.

‘Buy British’

We’d love to, but that ship sailed somewhere around World War II.

Some of these closures are just technological change. In France the old-fashioned auto box plant in Bordeaux has shut but if the EU commission agrees there will be a new battery plant and Toyota is increasing its production capacity.

Then there’s the on-going move to produce in cheaper locations hence the choice of Poland for one new battery plant.

And then there’s something uniquely British, Brexit.

‘Buy British’

what does that mean?

these 2 pics also nicely illustrate why brexit is helping to dismantle UK manufacturing

Let’s be clear the Leave vote was as much about people registering their discontent with the wealthier middle/political classes (concentrated in the SE) and their condescending attitudes and lack of support for less affluent areas of the country as it was about a dislike of the EU

Careful, you’re one step away from being called a far right appeaser once the brexit thread remain KGB see this. 🙂

Ford has dropped all saloon car production in the States, the only car they produce that isn’t an SUV or a truck (pickup), is the Mustang, which is a ‘World Car’, and with ever increasing emphasis on hybrid and electric vehicles, this sort of situation is going to become ever more common, and it ties in with a car industry that’s not doing at all well at the moment.

Kimbers, why did you use JLR as an example?