Ford is asking for new talks with Almussafes’ staff “given the uncertainty surrounding the electric vehicle.”

“Until now, the company has not provided us with information about the future of Almussafes, and this has made it very difficult for us to sit down and negotiate. This Monday they already told us that they are working on a solution, and this is a change that we appreciate,” said Carlos Faubel, president of the works council and UGT representative at Ford’s Valencia plant, after a meeting held via videoconference. with various European executives from the multinational, including Ford of Europe Vice President Kieran Caghill.

At the meeting, Caghill told union representatives that the company was “working on an alternative to resolve the problem” encountered at the Almussafes plant, given the uncertainty that the electric vehicle currently creates, the organization explained.

In this regard, Faubel commented that if the market does not demand 100% electric vehicles, management will have to guarantee the workload, be it hybrids or any other option, although he emphasized that in any case it is a decision that the company must make.

According to UGT, at this Monday’s meeting the company also promised that union representatives would meet with Ford’s global leadership in April and at that meeting they would provide “additional information on this issue.”

The UGT stressed that “there is no doubt that this situation represents a change from the silence of the European leadership in recent months.” In fact, the union hopes that “this marks a turning point towards a decision” regarding investment in Almussafes, “since the Electrification Agreement commits the company to looking after the future of Ford Almussafes,” it insisted.

Likewise, Ford has asked the majority union to consider “changing” its bargaining “position,” an option that has so far been closed due to the company’s silence regarding the future of the Valencia plant. “At UGT, we said that we could estimate if it would be for a short time and correspond to the date of the visit of Detroit managers,” the union organization explained.

“We are going to evaluate the option of opening a window that will allow us to agree on solutions, but of course it is limited in time. For now, we could agree to return to the negotiating table, which would serve to restore some stability until said meeting takes place in April. Because, according to the European vice president of Ford, the problem is being solved,” UGT added.

This Monday’s meeting comes at a time when the plant faces uncertainty over the flow of investment needed to produce the oval firm’s electric vehicles.

Last November, Ford announced it was postponing “any decision related to investment” in plant electrification following a visit to Almussafes in November by Ford Motor Company chief operating officer Kumar Galhotra.

In 2022, the Valencia plant was selected by Ford to produce its new electric vehicle platform starting in 2025. This decision secured capacity for the coming years and led to an agreement with UGT that a new company agreement was signed in 2022. In April of the same year, wage and flexibility measures driven by electrification were included. Ford’s award did not prevent the workforce from shifting as a result of the ERE, which affected 1,124 workers.

Although investments have not yet begun, the planned schedule of which has already been delayed, as the union has repeatedly warned, the plant has had to adjust its production due to declining sales. Ford Almussafes is ending production of the Transit van this year, with the only model until new electric models arriving is the Kuga. In January, the car company introduced a new version of this model, produced at the Almussafes plant.

The company has applied to participate in both lines of the new competition of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Electric and Connected Vehicles (Perte VEC II). The Ministry of Industry has allocated €37.6 million from battery production to establish a battery assembly plant at the Almussafes plant, and Ford has also requested assistance for the electric vehicle value chain.