The works council, the union IG Metall and the US car manufacturer ford have agreed on regulations for the future of the 3,750 employees at the Saarlouis location. As works council leader Markus Thal announced at a staff meeting on Wednesday, he signed a 28-page key agreement with the management of Ford Germany. In addition, IG Metall and Ford signed a corresponding social collective agreement.
The agreements include, among other things, the continued employment of 1,000 employees until the end of 2032, severance payments and bonuses as well as qualification programs. In addition, the end of production of the Ford Focus, originally planned for May 2025, is to be postponed by half a year. Since redundancies for operational reasons are ruled out until 2032, employees should leave the company via a severance pay program. Partial retirement models and conditions for switching to a transfer company are also part of the collective bargaining package, which the union members still have to agree to.
IG Metall wants its members at Ford to vote on February 22nd, whether the overall package will be accepted or whether an indefinite industrial action should take place instead. Around 98 percent of Ford’s workforce belongs to the union.
The works council and IG Metall have been negotiating for months
In the opinion of the works council, the agreement is set to fail a possible investor entry represents the second best solution. “From our perspective, all points were negotiated to a maximum in an intensive process. That’s why we as the works council also recommend acceptance.” In October 2023 it became known that a major investor who was initially interested had pulled out. The deal with the major investor should have secured at least 2,500 jobs. It was already clear back then that the next step would be negotiations on a social plan. At that time, Ford confirmed that it wanted to maintain or create 1,000 jobs at the location.
The Ford works council in Saarlouis and IG Metall have been fighting for months for a “decent offer” for employees who still have no prospects after the Ford Focus is phased out in mid-2025.
Most recently, billion-dollar quarterly loss in the electrical division
It has been known since summer 2022 that Ford wants to close the Saarlouis plant. Ford had decided in the future Electric cars not in Saarlouis, but to build in Valencia, Spain. According to previous statements, the US car manufacturer only wants to produce electric cars in Europe by 2030.