Ford to cut investment and production at Bridgend plant

Unite the union said it has "grave concerns" for the future of the plant

Ford has announced plans to cut the level of investment and will halve the production of its new generation of petrol engines at its factory in Bridgend.

The car manufacturer said it would reduce investment from £181 million to £100 million, but said it did not plan job losses among the 1,850 workforce.

Early forecasts were that the plant would produce 250,000 Dragon engines a year, but that figure has now been reduced to 125,000.

Ford said the decision had been made due to anticipated changes in demand, along with the success of its other engines - including the 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which is manufactured in Romania and Germany.

Unite the union said it has "grave concerns" for the future of the plant. Andy Richards, Unite’s Wales secretary, said: “Strategic decisions such as these are not made overnight. It is Unite's view that this is all part of a long-term restructuring plan across Ford's global operations, in which its Bridgend operations are to be slowly dismantled.

“Unite Wales has been raising these concerns with Welsh government ministers for a number of years and they have been very supportive in trying to secure a long-term future for Ford Bridgend.”

Richards added: “Today’s decision will have been made by its board in Detroit and that is where urgent questions must be raised as to the company's long-term commitment to its UK operations and its loyal and world class workforce here.”

The Bridgend plant opened in 1980 and currently makes 250,000 engines a year for Jaguar Land Rover but that will end in 2018.

The new Dragon engines will be made for Ford vehicles assembled outside of the UK.