Genk’s Mayor says the decision not to take up Punch Metal’s offer to secure up to 200 stamping jobs at Ford’s Belgium plant is a “missed opportunity” as the factory prepares for its last day today (18 December).
Production will end at Ford Genk after five decades, with police, churches, firefighters and mosques marking the milestone with two minutes of noise as the US automaker shifts manufacture to Valencia in Spain.
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Ford insists the Punch plan was unviable, but Genk authorities maintain more could have been done to ensure the Belgian stamper could head off at least some of the 4,300 direct redundancies.
“I think it is a missed opportunity for the future with Punch,” Genk Mayor, Wim Dries told just-auto from Belgium. “You should fight for every job in our city – I am fighting for every job in our city.
“Local and regional governments were willing to work with Punch to bring a new future for stamping. We know it was not an easy business plan, but sometimes you have to jump.
“We believe there was an opportunity – also there was a risk – but that is what entrepreneurs do. It is a missed opportunity and I am a bit sad Ford in the last mile and the last few metres, unplugged the deal.”
For its part, Ford said it had undertaken discussions with a small number of parties, but that no plan had convinced it to go forward.
“Despite the goodwill and serious intent of all those involved in these discussions, no viable plan has been presented that gives Ford the confidence a competitive business operating under normal market conditions and providing stable, longer term employment is achievable,” Ford said in an email to just-auto last week.
“Given this lack of progress – and the imminent cessation of production at Ford Genk – Ford has decided to terminate the discussions.”
Despite the setback, Genk’s Mayor said the situation was “not the end” and he would be striving to secure further employment at the site on the Belgian border with Germany.
However, Ford’s closure comes in the middle of major industrial unrest in Belgium and is just days after a nationwide general strike paralysed much of the country’s transport system as unions vented their anger at the new right-of-centre government’s austerity measures.
Dries – from the Christian Democrat party – nonetheless welcomed the Belgian government’s attempts to boost employment by bringing down labour costs as Europe slowly emerges from its long recession.
“I am glad the Federal government is taking new measures to bring down the cost of labour,” said Dries. “I think we are doing a lot of efforts.
“There is a lot of pressure in Europe on the making economy – it is not only a story of Flanders.”
Today’s two minutes of noise will be concentrated in Genk city centre, but similar actions of solidarity are expected across the Limburg region.
