..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
The German industrial union IG Metall has called the employees of five companies in the supplier park at Ford in the western town of Saarlouis on the French border out on indefinite strike.
“This means that within a few hours, production at the Ford plant itself will also come to a standstill, as no cars can be produced without engines/transmissions, axles, body parts, wiring systems and exhaust systems,” the union announced.
The representatives of the five companies – Magna, Benteler, Tenneco, Rhenus LMS and Lear Corp – had “not made any negotiable offers to IG Metall in negotiations on a social collective agreement since July 2023, but merely offered a cheap fob-off,” said Ralf Cavelius, lead negotiator for the local branch of IG Metall.
An ultimatum to February 29 and a further two-day moratorium had expired. A total of around 500 employees are affected by the strike: 300 on the early shift and another 200 on the midday shift.
A social collective agreement has been in force for employees at the Ford plant itself since the end of February.
The agreements include the continued employment of 1,000 of the total of 3,750 Ford employees until the end of 2032, high severance payments and bonuses, the formation of a transfer company and re-qualification programmes.
In addition, the end of production of the Ford Focus is to be postponed by six months to November 2025.
