Ford plans to cut 1,000 jobs at Welsh factory

Car manufacturer Ford is planning to cut 370 jobs at an engine plant in south Wales in the first phase of redundancies that will see up to 1,000 members of staff lose their jobs.

It comes as Ford looks to revise its European operations having announced plans this week to cut structural costs and let thousands of people go.

The first lot of staff cuts at its giant plant in Bridgend, Wales, are expected to be offered as voluntary redundancies, according to BBC Wales.

The Bridgend factory employs around 1,700 people but the current contracts to produce engines for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as well as the Ford Ecoboost engine are set to finish at the end of this year.

The plant won the investment for Ford’s Dragon engine, the latest petrol engine, but that only employs 500 people.

Current plans could see more than half the workforce phased out by the end of 2021 as part of 1,150 job cuts across the UK.

Ford have declined to comment on the figures but insist they are consulting with unions.

The Unite union has pledged to fight the compulsory redundancies.

"It is a devastating blow for our members and their families, as well as having grave implications for the Welsh economy and the supply chain," officer Des Quinn told BBC.

"Unite is fully committed to opposing any compulsory redundancies and campaigning strongly for Bridgend to have a viable future.

"There are a number of factors behind this grim news – the main ones being challenging market conditions for carmakers generally, a lack of a coherent industrial strategy from the UK government and the uncertainty created by Brexit.”