British labour body, Unite claims Ford is not holding talks at a senior level as uncertainty continues to bedevil the future of the automaker's engine plant in South Wales.
Ford recently announced it would axe GBP81m (US$107m) from an initial budget for engine development at the Bridgend plant and stressed this would not involve job losses, but Unite is pressing the manufacturer to sit round the table along with the Welsh government, for urgent negotiations.
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The union's evident bewilderment sits at odds however, with Ford's insistence to just-auto last week it was discussing the situation with unions, although a joint statement from Unite and the Welsh government later today may clarify the situation.
"This is what we are calling for, a dialogue at senior level between the union, the Welsh government and Ford Europe and indeed, Ford Global, to talk about the future of the Bridgend plant," a Unite spokesman told just-auto from the Welsh capital of Cardiff.
"The union think [s] they don't want to engage because they don't have a long-term strategy for Bridgend. Our fear is that plant is going to be run down over the next couple of years, because existing engines are coming to the end of their lifetime.
"The volume of the Dragon engine was 250,000 units per year – that has now been cut to 25,000 units – they are Ford figures. Investment has gone from GBP181m to GBP100m.
"The whole point of this is to try and get Ford entered in a dialogue. It needs to be meaningful dialogue and it needs to be senior executives."
The devolved Welsh government has taken a keen interest in maintaining Ford's association with Bridgend as it ploughed GBP15m into the plant on condition the automaker continued to employ 500 staff.
Ford is at pains to point out it does not envisage any reduction in employment at the plant, maintaining it has the right staffing levels to meet its short and medium-term requirements, but cautions it cannot predict future market trends.
"No plant can guarantee – we simply can't control supply and demand," a Ford spokesman recently told just-auto. "Manufacturing plants are at the mercy of global demand.
"As things stand, that is the situation. All plants have to be competitive. The GBP100m is still a very major investment. The way investment is made, we can upscale capacity pretty quickly."
Ford in the UK was not immediately available for comment.
