Ford workers in Basildon brace for redundancies as car giant cuts a fifth of its UK workforce

'These are difficult decisions, not taken lightly,' said Ford - as Simon Harris reports

Workers at a major Ford plant in Essex were today braced for mass redundancies as the car giant cut a fifth of its UK workforce. The company said the bulk of the 1,300 jobs would go from its Dunton facility in Basildon. Some jobs are also set to disappear at a Ford software development centre at Here East in London’s Olympic park, where 200 people work. The technical centre at Dunton, employing 3,400 people is the headquarters of Ford in Britain. The Dunton workforce includes designers and engineers responsible for developing the company’s world famous Transit van. Ford said the Diesel engine plant at Dagenham, east London would be unaffected by the redundancies.

Around 2,000 workers are employed at Dagenham compared to 40,000 in its 1950s car-making heyday. Ford said it hoped to achieve the job losses through voluntary redundancies over a period of two or three years.

Martin Sander, general manager of Ford Model e in Europe, said: “These are difficult decisions, not taken lightly.

“We recognise the uncertainty it creates for our team, and I assure them we will be offering them our full support in the months ahead.

“We will engage in consultations with our social partners so we can move forward together on building a thriving future for our business in Europe.”

The Unite union’s national officer for automotive, Des Quinn, added: “Ford’s announcement is another stark reminder that the shift to electrification needs a just transition that requires long-term investment and planning from automakers.

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