training and retraining, as well as 10.5 million euros
Support of the Ford Plant Generalitat Almussafes The entire automotive sector in Valencia this year will materialize in measures to train and retrain workers, as well as direct assistance of 10.5 million euros for training and industrial modernization.
In addition, a working group will be set up next week to study the most appropriate measures to strengthen the transition to electric vehicles.
Given the announcement of Ford’s fourth Employment Regulations (ERE) file at the Almussafes plant in the last four years, originally proposed for 1,622 people (626 dismissals for permanent incentives and 996 dismissals for objective reasons with a preference for rehiring in 2027) and pending negotiations with unions, it should “keep calm and have a responsibility” on the part of all political groups to “add, not subtract” during this time.
Here’s what the regional minister of industry told EFE: Felipe Carrascowhich considers the adoption of measures to support the transition to electric vehicles throughout the Spanish automotive industry as a matter of state, since there are other communities such as Valencia, where the automotive cluster adds 30,000 jobs, that “are or are about to find themselves in the same situation“.
Over the previous three years, ERE at Ford Almussafes has reduced its workforce by 1,900 people, and from the nearly 7,000 workers it had in March 2020, there are currently around 4,800 remaining.
Financial support
Consell maintains a support line for industrial upgrading, and it has increased in 2023. 10% of budget in the commitment to SMEs and maintaining the cooperation agreement with Ford to promote decarbonization, efficiency and innovation, and in supporting the Fund for Development and Innovation (FDI) created by the Generalitat in collaboration with Ford Spain.
The lines are being maintained and will be analyzed to see how competitiveness can be improved during the transformation by jointly re-examining “the best blueprint to help Ford” with a focus on the transition to electric, Carrasco explained.
According to him, the Council is ready to listen to proposals that the company can make and include them in the framework of assistance.
This year 2024 state aid from the Ministry of Industry in the amount of 8.5 million euros is provided for in the budgetenshrined in agreements concluded with the company since 2012, in order to strengthen the innovation system and the automotive cluster.
They are a direct aid to Ford, but as the regional secretary clarified, they contribute to the research and development projects of all companies in the ecosystem, so the entire sector benefits from them.
For its part, the Ministry of Finance has budgeted €2 million to support training, bringing the total to €10.5 million, the same amount received in previous years.
To these figures we can add more 3 million for investment in technology assistance to small and medium-sized businesses provided by the Ministry of Industry.
The Regional Secretary noted that in special situations in previous legislatures, specific training plans had been prepared by the competent department based on the established training scheme taking into account the specific circumstances, so this could not be ruled out in this case.
Working group
The working group on the automotive sector, which will be created next week, as announced this Friday by the President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mason, will conduct an in-depth analysis of the risks that may arise in the sector.
It will also develop a training and retraining plan for staff who may be affected by the transition, and finally make a unanimous request to the central government, if agreed, to urgently step up Network mechanism at the national level.
Like a government”we will join this request“What should social agents do and what the employers’ association CEV and the trade union UGT, the majority at the Almussafes plant, among other agents, have already expressed.
According to Carrasco, the automotive sector represents a contribution to industrial GDP that “deserves special treatment” from the Spanish government.
“The means to provide this mechanism are there, this is the second industrial sector, and this is a measure that the current government has approved,” he recalls, pointing out that if he does not activate this instrument to increase employment flexibility, “it will appear that he is unrealistically assessing the situation in sector.
“If others decide to play politics with such an important issue, Valencian society will not understand it,” he said.