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| Ford Bridgend: Proposal to close town's engine plant due | Ford Bridgend: Proposal to close town's engine plant due |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| An announcement on the proposed closure of Ford's Bridgend plant will be made on Thursday, the BBC has been told. | An announcement on the proposed closure of Ford's Bridgend plant will be made on Thursday, the BBC has been told. |
| Ford Europe and bosses from the United States will meet union leaders at its Essex headquarters. | Ford Europe and bosses from the United States will meet union leaders at its Essex headquarters. |
| The plant employs 1,700 workers from across south Wales and the GMB union said closure would "mean disaster". | |
| Ford said it would not comment on speculation but workers arriving at the plant for Thursday's early shift said they feared the worst. | |
| Tony Phillips, who has been at the plant for 31 years, said: "I'm expecting to lose my job this morning." | |
| Fellow worker Mark Lendrum said he was "devastated" by the speculation, adding: "South Wales is going to be like a ghost town." | |
| Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said he was in ongoing dialogue with the company. | |
| It comes just months after Ford said it was cutting its Welsh workforce by 1,000, with 370 going in a first phase. | It comes just months after Ford said it was cutting its Welsh workforce by 1,000, with 370 going in a first phase. |
| Investment in the new Dragon engine was scaled back, while production of an engine for Jaguar Land Rover is due to end this year. | Investment in the new Dragon engine was scaled back, while production of an engine for Jaguar Land Rover is due to end this year. |
| There has already been concern about whether the plant would be viable making only 125,000 Dragon petrol engines a year. | There has already been concern about whether the plant would be viable making only 125,000 Dragon petrol engines a year. |
| It comes just days after car sales in the UK fell again and the BBC expects Ford will be in touch with Welsh Government ministers first thing in the morning. | It comes just days after car sales in the UK fell again and the BBC expects Ford will be in touch with Welsh Government ministers first thing in the morning. |
| It is understood the meeting has been called in the past 24 hours and senior managers from Ford in the United States will be present, as well as union leaders from the company's other UK sites. | It is understood the meeting has been called in the past 24 hours and senior managers from Ford in the United States will be present, as well as union leaders from the company's other UK sites. |
| GMB regional organiser Jeff Beck said: "If our worst fears are confirmed, it will mean disaster for both our members in Bridgend and the community at large." | |
| Bridgend AM and former First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "Nobody would have thought before yesterday that this plant would close completely. | |
| "Yes, there were challenges in terms of jobs, but there were also opportunities," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers. | |
| Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said closure would be "one of the most bitter blows" for the Welsh economy for more than 30 years. | 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." | "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." |
| Analysis by BBC Wales Economics Correspondent Sarah Dickins | |
| What we know is there is a meeting today of Ford Europe and all the union leaders from plants across Europe have been called. | |
| I've been told that that meeting's agenda has been changed. | |
| They were meant to be talking about electrification and then discussion of Bridgend engine plant was put on the agenda. | |
| It's building up to a very important meeting that does not look like it is going to be good news for plant and for those individuals. | |
| What we don't know at all is the confirmation of that and the timescale. | |
| The plant began to find life tricky once Ford stopped assembling cars in the UK because those engines made at Bridgend go into cars in plants in Europe. | |
| An engine made close to an assembly plant is going to be cheaper than one that has got to come all the way from Bridgend. | |
| Mr Cairns said he had been in touch with Welsh Economy Minister Ken Skates and said the automotive sector was going through a period of structural change towards electric vehicles. | Mr Cairns said he had been in touch with Welsh Economy Minister Ken Skates and said the automotive sector was going through a period of structural change towards electric vehicles. |
| "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" in the event of the plant's closure. | |
| 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. | |
| "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. | |
| 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 a "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 a "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 |