THE Unite union yesterday vowed to fight the closures of Ford plants in Southampton and Dagenham.
The notice of mass sackings came as prime minister Cameron was trying to claim the UK recession is over.
Ford announced the end of production of the renowned Transit van at its plant in Southampton by 2013 and the closure of its stamping and tooling facility in Dagenham, with a total loss of around1,500 jobs and more in the supply chain.
Unite national officer for the car industry, Roger Maddison, said: ‘This means all production for the Transit van will move to Turkey.’
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: ‘Ford has betrayed its workforce and its loyal customer base. Unite is going to fight these closures.
‘This announcement has been handled disgracefully.
‘Only a few months ago Ford was promising staff a new Transit model for Southampton in 2014. The planned closures will really hurt the local economies, and the supply chain will be badly hit – up to 10,000 jobs could be at risk.
‘The Transit has been the best-selling van in the UK for over a quarter of a century.
‘It has a future in the UK if this government is prepared to fight for real jobs and persuade Ford to keep manufacturing vehicles in the UK.
‘It’s now time for Vincent Cable to put his words into action and intervene for the sake of British manufacturing and skilled jobs.
‘Unite will be meeting with our own UK union representatives and our European colleagues over the coming days to discuss the next steps.
‘Where is the “good news” in the real economy today Mr Cameron? Ford is ending vehicle production in the UK after almost a century.’
Ford employs 11,500 in the UK at Southampton, Dagenham, Bridgend, Dunton, Halewood and Warley.
Workers from Dagenham held a mass meeting yesterday and there will be a mass meeting of workers from Southampton on Monday, 29 October.
The GMB union responded angrily to Ford’s closure plans.
Justin Bowden, GMB national officer, said: ‘Ford’s track record in Britain is one of broken promises and factory closures.
‘This is devastating news for the workforce at Dagenham and Southampton, and a huge blow for the UK manufacturing industry.
‘It is an appalling indictment of Ford that in their largest market in Europe they are ending 110 years of vehicle production as they move van production to a low cost economy.’
Commenting on the latest official figures claiming UK growth of a minuscule one per cent from July to September, Unite general secretary McCluskey said: ‘A more realistic indicator is that the construction industry is still in the doldrums and its contribution to the last quarter’s GDP figures declined by 2.5 per cent.’
