The employees of Ford suppliers are temporarily back at work. Because there are new negotiations. The strike break impacts the Ford plant.
With the temporary return to work of employees from several companies in Ford’s supplier park in Saarlouis, production there has started again at the US car manufacturer.
“I can confirm that production was in place until yesterday and that the Ford Focus has been rolling off the assembly line again since this morning,” said the Ford spokeswoman in Cologne. After four days of strike, IG Metall Völklingen called on the approximately 500 employees of five supplier companies this morning to temporarily resume work.
The reason for the break in the strike was that the companies on strike had moved and negotiations had started again, the union said. A deadline of Sunday has been set in order to achieve “final negotiation results”. Otherwise there is a risk that the strike will continue. The Ford plant needs the parts manufactured by the suppliers for its production.
IG Metall wants to enforce social collective agreements for the company’s employees – with severance payments and transfer companies. The reason is the end of production in Saarlouis in November 2025, announced by the US car manufacturer Ford.
A social collective agreement has been in effect for employees at the Ford factory since the end of February. The agreements include the continued employment of 1,000 of Ford’s 3,750 employees until the end of 2032, high severance payments and bonuses, the formation of a transfer company and qualification programs. In addition, the end of production of the Ford Focus has been postponed by half a year to November 2025.
Source: Stern
