Ford Almussafes (Valencia) will produce 300,000 units per year of the new hybrid vehicle, with production starting in mid-2027. It won’t be electric as expected, but “in terms of workload and employment on a global scale, it will guarantee a level higher than what an electric platform means today.”
This was announced by UGT, the plant’s majority trade union, after a meeting with Ford Europe management. The organization described the information received as “very good news.”although he clarified that this “does not solve everything” and in the future it will be necessary to “resolve the issue of employment.”
According to the union, according to Ford Europe vice-president Kieran Cahill, this election will be a consequence of “recognition of the Valencia company for all the obligations fulfilled in recent years and in accordance with the Electrification Agreement. which, despite the turnaround that the automotive situation has experienced in relation to it, continues to be the instrument that allows us to bet on the future of the Valencian plant.
“Despite the difficulties that we still have to overcome, and taking into account the situation of uncertainty that we have experienced in recent months and which has become truly alarming, we can say that we have very good news,” said UGT.
The meeting took place at a time when At the Valencian factory, a new document on temporary rules of employment (ERTE) is in force until June 20, which will affect more than 2,000 workers within a few days. The plant currently employs 4,800 people following layoffs last year affecting 1,200 workers.
From now on, a negotiation scenario opens between Ford and the workers for the next three years until this model enters the production line, given that with the cessation of production of the Transit van, The Valencia plant only has the scope of work provided by Kuga until 2027. Despite the fact that this SUV is the brand’s best-selling model. And from 2022 to the present day, in addition to this, Van Almussafes has lost three more cars: Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy.
The decision to launch this new model three years later was announced on March 27, when Ford President Jim Farley, at a meeting in Dunton, England, committed to handing over the Valencia plant global multi-energy passenger vehicle, which would provide “sufficient” workload for the plant.
From my side, The Ministry of Industry and Trade assessed the announcement of the production of this car “very positively” because “this is the model that will keep this plant busy and prepare it for the future.”