Ford's Turkish future (From This is Hampshire)

Ford's Turkish future

9:03am Sunday 13th July 2008 in

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THIS week the Daily Echo exclusively published a leaked memo that appeared to cast doubt over whether the factory continued to produce Transit vans at current volumes. The memo to Ford staff revealed the company was "continuing to review possible alternative scenarios for the future of the plant" while staff feared production could be halved. Here Simon Carr looks at another staff concern - the possibility that work may transfer to Ford's Turkish plant.


AS FEARS over job losses at the Ford plant in Southampton grow, comments on the company website will do little to ease workers' concerns.

The Ford Motor Company - which owns 41 per cent of Turkish Transit plant Ford Otosan - talks about Turkey's burgeoning economy and praises the country as one of the leading exporters of vehicles to Europe.

And the website notes: "At the head of the pack in the Turkish automotive sector is Ford, both in terms of sales and production. No wonder, then, that Turkey is one integral part of Ford of Europe's plans for the future."

"In all, Turkey has grown in a relatively short period of time to become a major centre for automotive manufacturing and design. For Ford Motor, Turkey is another key to global success."

This observation will do much to add to the anxiety already felt in Swaythling where staff claim they have been told that production will be cut from 80,000 Ford Transits a year to just 35,000.

Moreover, many workers have told the Echo they think the extra work will go to Turkey where labour costs and overheads are cheaper.

The memo leaked to the Echo stated that the company had found a "number of economic and operating factors which make it very difficult to achieve a high level of investment in Southampton that would enable us to continue at current volume levels".

So what of the Turkey plant?

Opened in 2001 the Kocaeli plant in Turkey currently produces more than 200,000 Transits and the lighter Transit Connects a year.

Southampton workers fear that the operation in Turkey will start to focus its efforts on the traditional Transit when work on the new Transit begins in 2010 with worrying implications for the Southampton plant.

Meanwhile Ford confirmed to the Daily Echo that its recently opened Craiova plant in Romania will start producing Transit Connects in 2009 which could theoretically be used to free up room at the $650m Turkish facility according to some Swaythling workers.

Back in Turkey the Kocaeli plant was opened by the country's deputy prime minister Mesut Yilmaz seven years ago who predicted that when at full capacity the plant would provide as many as 4,000 jobs and develop Turkey's importance in the industrialised world.

The Daily Echo asked Ford for photographs of the Turkish site but a spokesman said: "We don't want to enlarge your story."

The Transit is also made at the Genk plant in Belgium and it was a strike there that brought the Southampton facility to a standstill in 2003 when Swaythling could not get essential parts delivered.

This year Ford also announced that it will be investing in new plants in India and Mexico.

'We will do all we can to help ford'

COUNCIL bosses have pledged to do all they can to keep the Ford plant in Southampton.

Southampton City Council leader Royston Smith said: "The last thing I want is for people to lose their jobs. Also the Transit promotes the city as everyone knows Southampton is the Home of the Transit'.

"We would very much like to work with them. We will be talking to Ford to see what we can do to support them, we want to do whatever we can to encourage them to stay and remove obstacles that might prevent that."

Those sentiments were echoed by Eastleigh Borough Council leader Keith House.

He said: "We are never complacent about companies in the area and we know that companies like Ford are always evaluating their business.

"We are in constant contact with Ford and will continue to have an ongoing dialogue. We will do anything we can to help keep them here as they are a much valued employer and an asset to the area."

Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce and Industry director general Jimmy Chestnutt said: "We understand why Ford is reluctant to comment while discussions are ongoing and that they have to review all their operations in the light of the economic climate and ever increasing environmental pressures.

"However, Ford are a large and important employer and Southampton has been home of the Ford Transit for many, many years.

"Any loss of product and or reduction in the size of the workforce will be a blow to the city region."

National officer for the Transport and General Workers' Union, David Osborne, told the Echo it was wrong to infer that one option was closure as it had never been mooted.

He said: "Basically it is much too early to talk about anything. There's nothing there for public consumption."

A Ford spokesman refused to comment on what options were under consideration.