The Ford plant in Almussafes (Valencia) will manufacture a new passenger vehicle which will complete the range which will be assembled in Europe, as the Ford European Works Council announced this Thursday in an official press release. This decision represents a respite for the Almussafes factory, which since April 17 has found itself with a single manufacturing model – the Kuga, since it ceases producing the Transit van – and is immersed in a temporary regulatory file of employment (ERTE) until April 19. .
The majority union at Ford Almussafes, the UGT, was convinced that This factory will be responsible for producing a hybrid modelin order to guarantee workload until electrification that the multinational will apply in this factory.
Ford’s global management has agreed to entrust the Almussafes plant in Valencia with the production of a passenger vehicle with which the factory will “maintain sufficient workload” while the future of electrification is at stake, as explained by the factory’s majority union, the UGT.
This was conveyed by the local president of the company, Jim Farley, to the workers’ representatives of the meeting held this Wednesday between the global and European management of Ford and the European Works Council of Dunton (England), which, for the union, concluded “in a positive and constructive manner”.
On April 10, the details of this mission will be discussed in greater detail during a new meeting to be held in Cologne. The meeting was expected to be key to finalizing what was put forward by Ford Europe vice-president Kieran Caghill in a meeting with the union last February, during which he said the company “was working on an alternative to resolve the problem” which originated from the factory before the uncertainty generated by the electric car Currently.
The Almussafes factory enriched the Temporary Work Regulation File (ERTE) which is in force until April 19, which affects a maximum of 700 people per day in automobile factories, because the launch of the Kuga model will not increase its production until today due to “supplier problems”. In addition, the 17th of this month will be the last day of production of the Transit van.
Uncertainty regarding electrification
The factory has been facing uncertainty for months over the arrival of the investments necessary to produce the oval company’s electric vehicles. The Valencian factory was chosen in 2022 to produce its new electric vehicle platform from 2025, but the investments necessary for this have not materialized or been announced and last November Ford announced that it was postponing “any decision relating to investments.”
Even though the investments have not started, the factory has had to adjust its production due to the drop in sales. This April 17, Ford Almussafes stop making the vantransit and the only model until the arrival of the new electrics was the Kuga. In principle, electrification was to ensure the workload in the coming years at Almussafes and this led to an agreement with the UGT so that the company’s new agreement included salary and flexibility measures conditioned on the electrification.
The award to Ford did not prevent the need to resize the workforce with an ERA which affected 1,124 workers. The company presented itself on both lines of new call of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Electric and Connected Vehicles (Loss VEC II).
The Ministry of Industry granted 37.6 million euros of the battery chain to establish a battery assembly plant in the Almussafes factory and Ford has also requested assistance for the electric vehicle value chain.