It seems fairly obvious from some threads here that some posters/commentors are FMC employees. Would any of you be able to shed any light on the two U.K. engine plants? Dagenham engine plant in England produces diesel engines and is suffering due to the demonization of diesel engines both in UK and in Europe. Bridgend engine plant in Wales produces petrol engines. It currently produces the ‘Sigma’ range of engines which are due to finish in 2019/2020. It also produces V6 and V8 engines for JLR, which has served notice that it’s contract for engine supply will cease also in 2020. Bridgend has recently been awarded the new ‘Dragon’ engine (1.5l, 3 cyl) but herein lies the problem; Bridgend currently employs c1500 people but the volume planned for the new engine will only employ c550 (inc. 50 salaried staff). Ford is conspicuously silent in how it plans to deal with the surplus labour and the general consensus is that Ford is actually closing Bridgend in a ‘two-stage’ fashion. Given the recent press articles and rhetoric from the company regarding its plans for restructuring in Europe and the problem it faces with the UK leaving the EU it looks fairly certain that Ford will definitely close one UK engine plant, if not both. These are highly paid jobs in both regions and will cause no end of devastation for employees, their families and the indirect supply chains to these plants. Is anyone out there able to provide any info, however small and if available, about the future plans the company has for either or both of these plants. It would be greatly appreciated, especially for those employees who worried sick about their future employment prospects.
3 replies (most recent on top)
Well you got a part of your question answered today as Bridgend is closing as you described above a year ago...
My bet is that we are closing both plants in UK, the numbers do not look good and things continue to deteriorate. I am a middle manager and I have no insider info, all I wrote is based on what's publicly available. So, my bet is both...
Given the recent press articles and rhetoric from the company regarding its plans for restructuring in Europe and the problem it faces with the UK leaving the EU it looks fairly certain that Ford will definitely close one UK engine plant, if not both.
Nobody is getting any answers from Hackett until "the time is appropriate". Much like his CEO history with Steelcase. If you read his past and how he made Steelcase a profitable company you would have learned he is a Consolidator. He cut 12,000 jobs and closed half their plants. His goal was to reduce wasted space and unfortunately it's my belief he will do the same with Ford Motor Company.
Yes, he doesnt come from an automotive background but if you are cleaning up, cutting cost and eliminating non-maximized workspace you dont need to have that particular background.
The best thing we (employees) can do is save some money... update our resumes and wait for the announcement we know is coming. Good luck to you and I hope your plant survives...