About 4,000 employees are expected to be affected by the decision to leave India, according to Ford India
Chennai: The decision of US auto giant Ford Motor Company to close its Indian plants has resulted in its first death – the wedding engagement of a young worker at the Chennai plant.
“A worker’s wedding engagement was canceled after the girl’s family heard of Ford’s decision to stop manufacturing vehicles in India,” a Chennai Ford Employees Union (CFEU) official told IANS.
He said this was the first impact Ford’s decision had on workers. Many workers have taken out home and car loans and contributions have to be paid while the job loss and uncertain future stare at them.
One day before the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival – September 9 – Ford India announced that it would cease vehicle assembly in Sanand by the fourth quarter of 2021 and vehicle and engine production in Chennai by the second quarter of 2022.
Ford India has four plants in the country – vehicle and engine plants in Chennai and Sanand.
Ford India has decided to continue operating the engine plant in Sanand while the other three will be closed.
According to the CFEU official, management held two meetings with union officials on Monday and Tuesday.
“We have expressed our opposition to the company’s sudden decision to close its factories. Management said they had asked the Tamil Nadu government to close the factory. They also said they would contact Chief Minister MK Stalin or Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the closure, “the official said.
“We told management that workers would be okay with drastic wage cuts to cut costs and make the business profitable, but officials disagreed,” he said.
According to him, management wants us to approve a compensation package so that the workers can be sent home.
“They said the decision to close was irreversible. We asked them to do so in writing,” he added.
The workers said the management had no answer as to what they were going to do with the factory.
“Production has ceased in the past two days as workers are demoralized about the job loss,” he said.
In a statement, the CFEU said it does not accept Ford India’s decision to close the plants.
The CFEU has urged management to secure jobs for workers at the Chennai plant with the intended purchaser of the plant.
At the Sanand plant in Gujarat, the management of Ford India had a meeting with the local union on Monday.
“The Sanand plant management had a conversation with us. They wanted to know if we had any questions about the company’s decision to close the plants,” Nayan Kateshiya, general secretary of the Sanand union, told IANS.
“We asked them about the future of the workers at the engine plant and how long it would still be in operation. We also asked them about the future of the factories that are slated to close, whether they would be sold / rented, ”added Kateshiya.
“Management is silent”
According to him, management had no answer and said they would return.
“We are working on finalizing the assembly of the cars that are still on the production lines. The engine factory is running, ”he said.
Ford’s decision to leave India will mean an uncertain future for some 5,300 employees – blue-collar and white-collar workers, union officials said.
According to union officials, Ford’s Chennai plant in India has about 2,700 employees (permanent employees) and about 600 employees.
“The number of workers in Sanand will be around 2,000,” said Kateshiya.
Ford India announced that more than 500 employees at the Sanand engine plant, which produces engines for export, and approximately 100 employees who support parts sales and customer service, will continue to support Ford’s business in India.
Ford India says the decision to leave India is expected to affect around 4,000 employees.
For all the news News, opinions and views, download ummid.com app.
Choose language For reading Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
.
