The factory ford in Almussafes, Valenciawill face a drop in production in the last week of September -with 400 fewer vehicles per day– and a total stoppage of production in the second week of September, due to a reduction in sales.
Specifically, if the oval firm produces 1,100 vehicles a day, next week it will only manufacture 700 a day, as explained by the president of the Works Committee and spokesperson for UGT, Carlos Faubel.
However, unlike the agreements reached during the recent crisis in the supply of components and derivatives, this time the majority union has stated that it will notor negotiate a new Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE) to adjust production until “Ford clarifies its future”, in relation to the uncertainty regarding the arrival of investments with which Ford will have to adapt the factory to the manufacturing of future electric models that will be assigned to Almussafes.
Employability solutions
Faubel has admitted that it will be “certainly complicated” to carry out the planned drop in production in the coming weeks without the ERTE. In that same sense, in a statement released this Tuesday, UGT has indicated that, for the drop in production planned for the last week of September, “the company You must look for employability solutions in non-production tasks” for surplus personnel.
As for the October days of total production stoppage, “they can be covered, as long as possible, with industrial working days of the year 2024as contemplated in the agreement”.
“Being aware that this scenario can be repeated both in November and December, the company will have to look for solutions because, as long as the situation does not change and Ford decides to reveal its plans regarding the future of electrificationit will not be possible to agree, at least with UGT, on transitional formulas that reduce the impact of going through periods of low production,” said UGT.
The union has stressed that Ford “has an agreement to comply with which you would just have to change the dates“referring to the Electrification Agreement, which involved changes in the conditions of workers subject to the arrival of electric vehicles to guarantee Almussafes’ workload in the coming years.
“An unequivocal message”
“As long as this does not happen, it will not be possible to sit down and explore alternatives to resolve a hypothetical surplus of personnel that could occur. after the departure of the Transit van“said UGT.
The union has recognized that “the situation of the automobile industry is very complex and the infrastructure is not advancing at the same pace as the non-polluting regulations imposed by the European Union, but all brands are making decisions and positioning itself before the new reality of the market”.
Therefore, “it is urgent that the company’s management worldwide clarify its plans for Valencia.” “Only from there can we find the best solutions to face the future successfully. From the point of view of the UGT, It’s time to send an unequivocal message on the part of Ford, and it has an Agreement for Electrification to comply with”, concluded the majority union in Almussafes.