Ford confirms it plans to close its Bridgend plant next year
Workers have been told of plans to close the factory on 25 September 2020
The firm have ceased production at the plant until Monday
Ford denied Brexit was the reason for the planned closure
The workers were told they were expected to lose their jobs in phases
The plant opened in 1980 and employs 1,700 workers
“I’m expecting to lose my job today after 31 years,” said worker Tony Phillips.
“I’m gutted for the youngsters. These are good well paid jobs. I feel like we’ve been lied to by the company because they said plants weren’t going to close.”
"Closure would be one of the most bitter blows for the Welsh economy for more than 30 years," said Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price on Twitter.
"Ford is jewel in the crown of the car industry - which is the hardcore of our manufacturing sector - the implications of this in terms of the supply chain & job losses is v. grave."
2008: Ford announces it will operate as a single global company - meaning its Bridgend engine plant had to compete with the firm's other factories across the world, not just in Europe
2015: Bridgend secures investment for Dragon petrol engine project - with 250,000 engines a year, although it has capacity for 750,000 a year
2016: The planned Dragon investment is reduced to £121m and the number of engines is cut in half to 125,000
2017: Ford projects a reduction of 1,160 workers by 2021 and confirms production of Jaguar Land Rover engines - which involves half the workforce - will end in 2020
2018: Workers making Jaguar engines face a five-day shutdown as a knock-on effect from JLR's temporary production halt.Ford's European boss warns ano-deal Brexit would be a "pretty disastrous"
2019: Ford plans to cut 370 jobs the first phase of redundancies which will total 990 by 2021. The Dragon project is scheduled to employ about 500
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
An announcement on the proposed closure of Ford's Bridgend plant is expected to be made on Thursday.
The site opened in 1980 and employs 1,700 workers.