Crisis car industry
Ford job cuts: Works council fears for the future of the location
After the news of massive job cuts at Ford, the works council called for an information meeting. There were 8,000 seats in two halls, all of which were occupied. The frustration is great, and tears flowed.
With Ford management’s drastic job cuts plans, the works council sees the future of the US car manufacturer in Germany at risk. “This is a massive threat to the location,” said Ford Germany works council boss Benjamin Gruschka and spoke of a “brutal dismantling plan” that was “unacceptable”. The IG Metall spokesman at Ford, David Lüdtke, said: “If this plan is put into action, it will be the dismantling of our site and that will mean death in installments for us.”
Last week, management announced that it would cut 2,900 jobs within three years, around a quarter of the current Ford jobs in Cologne (around 12,000). In the meantime, management has informed the works council about the specific reduction plans in the individual areas.
While management did not want to speak publicly about the specific measures, the works council informed the workforce about them at a works meeting. According to the works council, around 8,000 people came. IG Metaller Gruschka later told journalists that it was “no longer a typical downsizing,” but rather that entire areas that had between four and 400 employees were discontinued. At the works meeting it was dead quiet in the audience. Some employees cried.
Focus on car manufacturing
He reported on the conversation with management about the specific measures. “The Ford Works [GmbH] said that they only want to concentrate on the core business, and that is developing and building cars,” said Gruschka. “They are currently questioning everything around it and should no longer be pursued.” It’s about “production services, components, Vehicle parts, service, maintenance, repairs and maintenance”. Grushka did not become more specific. According to informed circles, the factory security and the factory canteen will no longer be operated by Ford itself, but rather external service providers will be commissioned.
The red pencil will also be applied to administration and development. Electric car production, however – Ford produces two Stromer models in Cologne – is not affected. Around 2,500 people work there, and short-time work is currently in effect there due to weak sales. Grushka accused the management of serious mistakes and now the employees would have to “bleed”. “We need a vision for this location,” said the trade unionist. “We are calling for a future concept, you have to think about the car differently – e-mobiles are built differently than some other combustion engines used to be, they are a moving computer with four wheels.”
dpa
Source: Stern
