Conversations again
Things have not looked particularly hopeful in recent months for the employees of the Ford factory in Saarlouis, Germany. Now there is a bright spot again.
Ford Saarlouis has been in operation since 1968 and the first complete Fords rolled off the production line in 1970. Still, things will soon end for the factory, at least when it comes to building Fords. They now only build the Focus there, which will go out of production next year, while no new model will take its place in Saarlouis. Ford is now looking for a party that wants to continue car production at the factory near the border with France. Discussions about this with an interested party broke down in October.
Now there is another glimmer of hope for the more than 4,000 people who work there. According to the German news agency DPA there are new conversations with an interested party from the automotive industry. Previously, the Chinese Chery or compatriot BYD were reportedly interested, but BYD has now presented plans to set up a new factory in Hungary. “I remain confident that we will find a solution to save as many jobs as possible,” said the president of the Saarland state. If these talks fail, the jobs of approximately 3,400 factory employees will be in jeopardy. In the extreme case, Ford would keep Saarlouis somewhat active as a technical innovation center, with 1,000 employees.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl