Ford threatens to close Solihull Facility!
Friday, May 28, 2004
Ford has again threatened the possible closure
of Land Rovers Solihull manufacturing facility if quality does not improve.
Yesterday, Fords most senior executive in Europe, Mark Fields, spoke frankly
to management and unions at the Lode Lane Facility.
"You have just eight weeks to save your jobs" was the message to Solihull’s
8,000 plus workforce. Mark Fields demanded that both unions and management
deliver a "road map" by August for big improvements to bring the plant up to
world-class standards.
The unions agreed to draw up a joint "road map" with management, from which,
will provide changes at the factory to match the performance of Jaguar and
Volvo plants within three years and a promise to be in the top five in the
annual JD Power quality survey.
Matthew Taylor, managing director of Land Rover said, "This is pretty much
crunch time for Solihull."
When asked what would happen if the work force was unable to meet new
standards, Mr. Taylor said, "Nobody is contemplating such a scenario. If we
are unable to produce a plant that has world class standards, investment
decisions will be made on where we are and inevitably it will mean the
steady decline of investment coming into the plant and put pressure on long
term viability."
Land Rover is predicting the market for global sports utility vehicles will
grow by 40 percent over the next five years.
Land Rover at Solihull is seen as an integral part of Ford’s Premier
Automotive Group with a long and proud history. Following yesterday’s
meeting the trade unions said they are confident it will have an equally
bright future.
Text: Ford/Land Rover |