Ford closes the valves in Bordeaux. The US automaker has decided to no longer invest in its gearbox production site in Blanquefort, Gironde, said the unions of the plant.
The thousand or so employees of the Ford Aquitaine Industrie site were until now protected by a five-year agreement between Ford and the authorities against the payment of public aid. But this agreement expires at the end of May.
Received in September in Bercy, the trade unions of FAI-Blanquefort, with figurehead Philippe Poutou (CGT, former presidential candidate of the NPA), mobilize for years on their fears for the survival of the site.
They frequently accused Ford of postponing investment decisions to save time, and in particular demanded a new transmissions box, called 8F-MID, whose production in Blanquefort would have assured them the continuity of the factory.
Citing the results of a formal study, the group explains that “the manufacture of the new 8-speed transmission to FAI in Bordeaux is not economically viable”.
The Mayor urges Ford to continue its activity
Bruno Le Maire, who participated in this committee as a representative of the state, for his part urged Ford not to abandon his factory. The Economy Minister “wants the Ford Group to work closely with employee representatives, the local authorities concerned and the State to ensure the long-term sustainability of this industrial site and the long-term maintenance of employment” , says Bercy in a statement.
The minister “will meet in the coming days” unions and elected officials to “take stock of the situation” of the site, where a thousand jobs are threatened.
A possible maintenance of the activity until 2019
Bruno Le Maire asked the group’s President Europe “to maintain a sufficient workload on the site until the end of 2019”, beyond the five-year agreement that ends in late May.
“This should allow the research in good conditions of new activities for this plant, within the Ford group or in connection with external partners,” says Bercy.
According to its statement, Ford should accept this condition: “As we have already said, the industrial activity at ISP depends on market demand but current projections of production volume are sound until the course of 2019,” writes the American manufacturer.
The group also affirms its “commitment to finding a viable and sustainable solution to maintaining employment on the site,” including “the search for any interested potential buyer.”