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The Bridgend Engine Plant, which employs about 1,700 people in South Wales, will likely close by late 2020 after a consultation.
The multinational said the move is needed to make the company more efficient, and it blamed falling demand for engine production at the plant. It will soon stop making engines for Jaguar Land Rover. Ford said there is reduced global demand for the new generation Ford GTDi and Pfi 1.5l engine, and production of the previous generation Ford GTDi 1.5l engine has stopped. It is more expensive to produce engines at the plant compared to other facilities, Ford said.
Many online were quick to blame Brexit, and the business uncertainty that has now existed for several years. Tonia Antoniazzi, Labour MP for nearby Gower, asked: “Please tell me where the 1,500+ jobs will come from in a potential post-Brexit Wales?”
“Today’s announcement is another crushing blow for UK automotive manufacturing and, especially, the staff and their families in and around Bridgend,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
“Ford’s challenges are not unique: economic uncertainty at home and abroad, technological change and global trade issues are stressing markets and forcing companies to review operations and make difficult decisions. Success in this fiercely competitive global industry, however, starts at home and we hope that all efforts will be made over the coming weeks to restore confidence, bolster demand and ensure there is long term competitiveness for this crucial sector.”
The latest factory closure announcement follows SMMT figures released last week, showing an 11th consecutive month of falling car production. 44.5% fewer cars were built in April than in the same month last year.
Ford stressed that it will maintain its UK presence in a number of other facilities, including the Dagenham engine plant and the Halewood Getrag and Ford transmissions facility in Merseyside.
“We are committed to the UK,” said Stuart Rowley, president of Ford in Europe. “However, changing customer demand and cost disadvantages, plus an absence of additional engine models for Bridgend going forward, make the plant economically unsustainable in the years ahead.”
Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, said: “We will resist this closure with all our might, and call on the governments at the Welsh Assembly and Westminster to join us to save this plant.”
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