UGT predicts ‘significant surplus’ of staff at Almussafes

UGTmajority union at the plant Ford Almussafesassured today, after a meeting with the company management, that he will only accept temporary employment rules file (Erte), which will end on March 28, not April 30, as the company intends. Last Wednesday the company informed the works council of its readiness to apply this labor measure to some 750 workers due to a drop in factory production, which will affect the automobile and engine factories.

In a statement after the meeting, the UGT justified its plan with three main reasons. The first is that the situation at the plant when we return from the Easter holidays, on April 8, “will be completely different, since we will almost a week before the plant experiences a significant surplus of personnel“. The reason for this is that European production of the Transit van will cease mid-month – thus adding to the US version of the same one that said goodbye in December – a key change given that will leave Kuga as the only production car. And such total dependence on one model has not happened since the early 80s.

Namely, by March 28, the union predicts that “ starting ramp of the new Kuga, which has undergone a refurbishment midway through its commercial operations, will allow those affected by the lack of production to be transferred to the day shift. The problem of non-production for the planned four days at the engine plant has been resolved.”

Same conditions

The UGT therefore concludes that the only exception it is prepared to grant is Erte on the same economic terms as previously agreed. 4 days for engines and a maximum of 15 days per worker for vehicles.“through a meeting with Ford’s global leadership” scheduled for April of that month and at which multinational has committed to providing an “alternative” to the Valencian plant pending completion of its electrification.

The headquarters finally emphasized in its document that if the proposed conditions were met, “an agreement could be reached next Monday,” the very day the company proposed to start business. Of course, this sends another fundamental warning. Given that The UGT states that “depending on what happens at the said meeting, other negotiation periods may or may not be open.” This point is key because, with a large surplus of personnel, and if Ford finally confirms what Almussafes’ electric future will be and under what conditions it will be achieved, other processes, such as the new ERE, may come to the fore.