Ford faces serious production problems after deciding to cut 3,000 jobs in Belgium, Automotive News Europe reported.
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Production of Transit vans was halted at the end of last week after parts supplies were disrupted. There are fears that Ford’s premium brands Jaguar and Volvo could also be affected.
Workers at Ford’s Genk plant have been staging work disruptions including two 24-hour strikes since Ford’s October 1 announcement it would withdraw the next generation Focus from the plant along with 3,000 jobs. Production at Ford’s Transit plant in Southampton, UK stopped because it was getting no stamped body panels from Genk.
Jaguar and Volvo were also carefully monitoring the situation at the huge Genk factory, which makes stampings for the Jaguar X-type and Volvo S40.
Both said normal production was continuing so far. Genk also makes stampings for the Ford Focus, made at Saarlouis, Germany and Valencia, Spain.
Shipment of Ford Transit commercial vehicles also stopped as workers blocked factory gates at Genk.
Ford’s decision to rescind its February 2002 plan to make about 150,000 units of the Focus at Genk also reverberated in the supplier community.
Suppliers are still trying to absorb the impact of Ford’s decision to withdraw its investment. Pieter Donck, director of the auto section of AGORIA, the association of Belgian metalworking companies that includes auto suppliers, predicted about 1,200 additional supplier jobs will be lost as a result of the Ford move.
Some companies, particularly those supplying industrial conveyors, will be hit hardest, he said. “What is shocking most people is that they had certain commitment made in 2002 and this commitment is now unilaterally broken,” he said.
“No future has been given. Is the new Mondeo coming? This is creating confusion around the factory in Genk.”
Said Ralf Bergner, chief executive of CLEPA, the European suppliers association: “If they invest heavily and tell suppliers to be ready, it’s actually a very, very difficult situation for the suppliers.”
