Unite – Britain’s and Ireland’s largest union – has pledged to fight any compulsory redundancies, following briefings that 1,000 job losses were possible over the next two years at Ford’s Bridgend engine plant in South Wales.
Shop stewards from Ford factories have been given a briefing on the proposals. The plans are for a total of 1,150 job losses in the UK, with almost 1,000 at Bridgend and the rest at Ford’s transport operations, which would affect truck drivers across the UK.
Des Quinn, Unite’s national officer for automotive industries, said: “What is being proposed at Bridgend is due to take place in two stages over two years. Unite is fully committed to opposing any compulsory redundancies and campaigning strongly for Bridgend to have a viable future.
“There are a number of factors behind this grim news – the main ones being challenging market conditions for car makers generally, a lack of a coherent industrial strategy from the UK government, and the uncertainty created by Brexit.
