Posted 05/06/2019 13: 33: 23CET
It is the first installation of batteries of an automobile manufacturer in Spain and will involve the creation of about 100 jobs
MADRID, Jun 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The American automobile firm Ford has confirmed on Wednesday its plans to create a battery assembly facility for electrified vehicles in its factory in Almussafes (Valencia).
According to the company, the assembly of the batteries in the Valencian installation is expected to begin in September 2020, and the batteries will be installed in the hybrid and hybrid plug-in versions of the new Kuga.
Almussafes is the only European production plant of Ford that will host all versions of the new generation of the Kuga, which will go on sale later this year.
“This is a new and important opportunity for our Almussafes plant, placing the battery assembly next to the production lines where the new Kuga Plug-In Hybrid and Kuga Hybrid will be built, optimizing our investments and manufacturing efficiency,” he said. Director of Manufacturing of Ford Spain, Dionisio Campos.
The chairman of the company committee of Valencia, Carlos Faubel, has valued in a “very positive” the American company’s commitment to the Valencia plant, although he warned that the decision “is no stranger” to the restructuring plan that Ford is carried out in Europe.
Speaking to Europa Press, has estimated in about a hundred jobs that can be created with the implementation of the new installation for the assembly of batteries.
“We will have to fight to be Ford people, it is good news because it points to the future, as is the situation of the automobile sector in general, we received this bet from the company in a very positive way,” he stressed.
The works council was convened on Thursday at 3:00 pm by Ford management to address the production plans of the plant.
RESTRUCTURING PLAN
Ford will eliminate around 10% of its workforce worldwide, some 7,000 jobs, by the end of August, as part of its restructuring plan, through voluntary redundancies and layoffs.
In Spain, the oval firm employs about 8,000 people. Campos specified in December that readjustments in Almussafes had not yet been defined, while Ford Spain sources consulted by Europa Press explained that the company is studying the possible impact that this measure could have on its workforce in Spain.
These sources stressed that Ford’s communication in the United States reflects its intention to cut its office staff by 10% and that, at the moment, it is not talking about jobs linked to production.
Thus, they pointed out that the actions aimed at reducing costs in the European continent will concentrate the readjustments of staff in the United Kingdom and Germany, which is where the firm has its regional headquarters, more than in Spain.