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| Ford Bridgend engine plant 'to close in 2020' | Ford Bridgend engine plant 'to close in 2020' |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Ford's engine plant in Bridgend will close in September 2020, union sources have said, with the loss of 1,700 jobs. | Ford's engine plant in Bridgend will close in September 2020, union sources have said, with the loss of 1,700 jobs. |
| Union officials are being told details of the plans at a meeting with Ford bosses which include the offer of redeployment of workers to other sites. | Union officials are being told details of the plans at a meeting with Ford bosses which include the offer of redeployment of workers to other sites. |
| All staff at the plant will be sent home after they have been addressed by management, BBC Wales has been told. | |
| Ford will make an official announcement later, with workers saying they were "devastated". | |
| The company is understood to be blaming "under utilisation" and cost disadvantage compared with other sites. | The company is understood to be blaming "under utilisation" and cost disadvantage compared with other sites. |
| The plant employs workers from across south Wales and many more in companies supplying goods and services to it. | |
| The GMB union said closure would be a "hammer blow" for workers, Bridgend and the Welsh economy. | |
| Live updates: Fears for the future of Ford Bridgend | Live updates: Fears for the future of Ford Bridgend |
| Tony Phillips, who has been at the plant for 31 years, said: "I'm expecting to lose my job this morning." | Tony Phillips, who has been at the plant for 31 years, said: "I'm expecting to lose my job this morning." |
| He added: "These are good, well-paid jobs." | He added: "These are good, well-paid jobs." |
| Fellow worker Mark Lendrum said he was "devastated", adding: "South Wales is going to be like a ghost town." | Fellow worker Mark Lendrum said he was "devastated", adding: "South Wales is going to be like a ghost town." |
| The closure news comes just months after Ford said it was cutting its Welsh workforce by 1,000, with 370 going in a first phase. | The closure news comes just months after Ford said it was cutting its Welsh workforce by 1,000, with 370 going in a first phase. |
| Investment in a new Dragon petrol engine was scaled back, while production of an engine for Jaguar Land Rover is due to end this year. | |
| Just days ago, car sales in the UK fell again. | |
| GMB regional organiser Jeff Beck said: "We're hugely shocked by today's announcement. It's a real hammer blow for the Welsh economy and the community in Bridgend. | |
| "GMB will continue to work with Ford, our sister unions and the Welsh Government to find a solution to the issue and mitigate the effects of this devastating news." | |
| Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey said: "Ford has treated its UK workers abysmally, and the company can do so because the fact remains that it is cheaper, easier and quicker to sack our workers than those in our competitor countries. | |
| "But Ford can forget about it if it thinks we will make it easy for Ford to walk away from this workforce. | |
| "We will resist this closure with all our might." | |
| How Ford came to Bridgend | How Ford came to Bridgend |
| Ford chose Bridgend for its new engine plant in the summer of 1977 after competition from elsewhere in Europe, chiefly from Ireland. | Ford chose Bridgend for its new engine plant in the summer of 1977 after competition from elsewhere in Europe, chiefly from Ireland. |
| The company needed an engine for its new model - code-named Erika - which became the next generation Ford Escort, and would be built at Halewood on Merseyside and at Saarlouis in Germany from 1980. | The company needed an engine for its new model - code-named Erika - which became the next generation Ford Escort, and would be built at Halewood on Merseyside and at Saarlouis in Germany from 1980. |
| The promise was 2,500 jobs but, by the time it opened in May 1980, Ford had decided to take on only 1,400 workers with 22,000 people applying for the roles. | The promise was 2,500 jobs but, by the time it opened in May 1980, Ford had decided to take on only 1,400 workers with 22,000 people applying for the roles. |
| Concerns about the plant's long term future were raised more than a decade ago when the decision was taken to no longer have Ford UK and Ford Europe making different designs of cars compared with the USA and rest of the world. | |
| 'Move towards electric vehicles' | |
| Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the automotive sector was going through a period of structural change towards electric vehicles and that he had been in touch with Welsh Economy Minister Ken Skates. | Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the automotive sector was going through a period of structural change towards electric vehicles and that he had been in touch with Welsh Economy Minister Ken Skates. |
| "We're determined to do what we can to protect the future employment in that area in this exciting sector," he added. | "We're determined to do what we can to protect the future employment in that area in this exciting sector," he added. |
| Mr Skates said the Welsh Government would provide a "rapid response taskforce to support workers". | Mr Skates said the Welsh Government would provide a "rapid response taskforce to support workers". |
| He said: "There has been a lot of speculation over the future of Ford for some time now and, during that period, the Welsh Government has been in discussions with the UK government in attempting to capture alternate employment and to land some major projects in Bridgend." | He said: "There has been a lot of speculation over the future of Ford for some time now and, during that period, the Welsh Government has been in discussions with the UK government in attempting to capture alternate employment and to land some major projects in Bridgend." |
| Since 1978 about £140m in taxpayers' money has been invested in the plant, he said. | Since 1978 about £140m in taxpayers' money has been invested in the plant, he said. |
| "That has been money well spent because, just in the last decade alone, £3bn has been pumped back into the Bridgend economy by the Ford plant. | "That has been money well spent because, just in the last decade alone, £3bn has been pumped back into the Bridgend economy by the Ford plant. |
| "What we have repeatedly said to Ford over recent months and years is that Wales stands ready, it is perfectly situated and positioned to help businesses," he said. | "What we have repeatedly said to Ford over recent months and years is that Wales stands ready, it is perfectly situated and positioned to help businesses," he said. |
| Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said closure would be "one of the most bitter blows" for the Welsh economy for more than 30 years. | |
| "Ford is the jewel in the crown of the car industry - which is the hardcore of our manufacturing sector - so the implications of this in terms of the supply chain in terms of job losses is very, very grave indeed." | |
| Timeline | Timeline |
| 2008: Ford announces it will operate as a single global company - meaning its Bridgend engine plant had to compete with the firm's other factories across the world, not just in Europe | 2008: Ford announces it will operate as a single global company - meaning its Bridgend engine plant had to compete with the firm's other factories across the world, not just in Europe |
| 2015: Bridgend secures investment for Dragon petrol engine project - with 250,000 engines a year, although it has capacity for 750,000 a year | 2015: Bridgend secures investment for Dragon petrol engine project - with 250,000 engines a year, although it has capacity for 750,000 a year |
| 2016: The planned Dragon investment is reduced to £121m and the number of engines is cut in half to 125,000 | 2016: The planned Dragon investment is reduced to £121m and the number of engines is cut in half to 125,000 |
| 2017: Ford projects a reduction of 1,160 workers by 2021 and confirms production of Jaguar Land Rover engines - which involves half the workforce - will end in 2020 | 2017: Ford projects a reduction of 1,160 workers by 2021 and confirms production of Jaguar Land Rover engines - which involves half the workforce - will end in 2020 |
| 2018: Workers making Jaguar engines face a five-day shutdown as a knock-on effect from JLR's temporary production halt. Ford's European boss warns a no-deal Brexit would be "pretty disastrous" | 2018: Workers making Jaguar engines face a five-day shutdown as a knock-on effect from JLR's temporary production halt. Ford's European boss warns a no-deal Brexit would be "pretty disastrous" |
| 2019: Ford plans to cut 370 jobs the first phase of redundancies which will total 990 by 2021. The Dragon project is scheduled to employ about 500 | 2019: Ford plans to cut 370 jobs the first phase of redundancies which will total 990 by 2021. The Dragon project is scheduled to employ about 500 |
| What's happening to the car industry? | What's happening to the car industry? |
| Several car companies with UK factories have recently announced significant changes: | Several car companies with UK factories have recently announced significant changes: |
| The car industry's problems have been blamed, in part, "because the trade future is uncertain with Brexit," according to consultant Anne-Marie Blaisden. | The car industry's problems have been blamed, in part, "because the trade future is uncertain with Brexit," according to consultant Anne-Marie Blaisden. |
| There is a "very difficult business backdrop" for car makers to negotiate, said the head of autos research for Fitch Solutions. | There is a "very difficult business backdrop" for car makers to negotiate, said the head of autos research for Fitch Solutions. |
| But she said there had also been a "shift away from what is being made at the moment, in terms of diesel cars". | But she said there had also been a "shift away from what is being made at the moment, in terms of diesel cars". |
| "It takes a lot of investment so they have to think years in advance about whether they've got the supply chain, whether they've got the skills." | "It takes a lot of investment so they have to think years in advance about whether they've got the supply chain, whether they've got the skills." |
| Analysis by James Williams, BBC Wales Brexit correspondent | |
| It's the Brexit equivalent of a Rorschach test - you can interpret the inkblot or decision in different ways. | |
| Those who want to see us stay in the EU see Brexit as a factor in Ford Bridgend's closure, whilst Brexiteers point the finger of blame at the wider pressures bearing down on the automative industry - from a shift to electric cars to falling demand from China. | |
| Ford announced back in December that it was restructuring its operations right across Europe. | |
| As part of that change, a plant in Bordeaux in France is to be closed and thousands of jobs cut in Germany. Brexit, obviously, was not a factor in those decisions. | |
| Given that context, here in Wales and the UK, the additional issue of Brexit and the ongoing uncertainty over what kind of economic relationship we'll have with EU's single market doesn't help matters. | |
| Nissan, when it announced its decision to move production from Sunderland to Japan, said Brexit uncertainty is not helping them "plan for the future" whilst Honda said that its plant closure in Swindon wasn't related to our departure from the EU. | |
| In a few hours time, we'll see if Ford makes any reference to Brexit in its decision. | |
| Have you been made redundant by Ford during its time at Bridgend? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | |
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