Ford announce Factory closures and job losses

Ford Motor Company have announced that its two remaining UK production plants at Southampton and Dagenham are set to close, with the loss of 1400 UK jobs. The losses come as part of a larger restructering plan, which involves the closure of the huge Ford plant in Genk in Belgium, and cross European job losses of over 5,000.

The Southampton plant has produced Ford Transit models for decades, and Unions are angry at the move as they claim the workers were promised a new contact for Transit production in 2014. They claim that the local economy and supply chain could be hit, with the potential loss of 10,000 jobs. Ford now plan Transit production to be moved entirely to the plant at Kocaeli in Turkey.

The Dagenham plant is one of the iconic factories in UK car production. The huge neon sign that adorned the plant for years is a well recognised image.

The move by Ford signals the end of vehicle production by the company in the UK.