Ford Works Council demands clarity for employees
The Works Council of Ford in Saarlouis expects the US car manufacturer to make a "decent offer" by the beginning of February for the approximately 2,850 employees who still have no prospects after the Ford Focus is discontinued in mid-2025. "Our colleagues finally need clarity. They need to know how they can plan their future," Markus Thal, Chairman of the Works Council, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Wednesday. At a staff meeting at midday, he reported on the current social wage negotiations.
The employees, 98 percent of whom are organized in IG Metall, would then have to decide on the offer in a ballot. Otherwise, there is a threat of industrial action.
Hopes that it will be possible to present an investor to take over the site in the short term are dwindling among the workforce. At the beginning of October, it was announced that negotiations with an interested party regarding a takeover of the Ford site had initially failed. They were resumed a few days later. According to dpa information, this is said to be an Asian car manufacturer.
"The talks are still ongoing," said a Ford spokesperson on request. According to Saarland Economics Minister Jürgen Barke (SPD), "intensive and complex negotiations are still underway with an investor from the automotive industry". While Ford's social plan negotiations are continuing in parallel, the state government's primary goal remains to support a future solution at the Saarlouis site.
By January 1, 2024, the number of Ford employees in Saarland is to be reduced from 4,500 to 3,850, as agreed with the US car manufacturer's group management. In return for this year's staff reduction, a works agreement guarantees around 1000 Ford employees a job until the end of 2032. A further 1300 employees work in the surrounding supplier companies of the "Supplier Park" in Saarlouis.
The Works Council's demand for a "decent offer" from Ford also includes addressing the concerns of trade unions, as they seek to protect the rights and futures of their members. Despite ongoing negotiations with a potential Asian investor, Ford employees continue to express worry about their job prospects post-2025, given that the Ford Focus will no longer be produced at the Saarlouis site.
Source: www.dpa.com
