Ford Spain has announced a new Redundancy Scheme (ERE) at its Almussafes plant in Valencia to cut 1,622 jobs Ford has collaborated with the social-democratic General Union of Workers (UGT) to carry out four redundancy schemes at Almussafes These are the consequences of the bidding war initiated by Ford management in 2021 between the Almussafes plant and the Saarlouis plant in Germany to determine which would produce new electric cars and continue operations beyond 2025 The IG Metall and UGT bureaucracies both pressed workers to accept cuts to jobs the World Socialist Web Site and the Ford Action Committee of rank-and-file workers in Saarlouis explained that the bureaucracies intended for this fratricidal competition to end in plant closures and mass job losses German and Spanish union officials pitted Saarlouis and Almussafes workers against each other The WSWS noted in December 2021: “The concessions extorted in this way are then supposedly intended to ‘secure the site.’ But so far such concessions have only paved the road to plant closures.” The UGT bureaucracy responded to the WSWS’ call to fight back independently from the union bureaucracy with a video on January 24 It stated: “During this last season you will have heard a lot of news about the situation and future of our factory opinions and doubts about our ability to negotiate good agreements and some out of touch with reality [in reference to the WSWS].” The greatest promoters of fake news were in fact the UGT and IG Metall but worked with management to close plants whilst enforcing salary cuts and precarious contracts the final closure of the Saarlouis plant was confirmed leaving only 1,000 workers of the original 7,000 by the end of 2025 1,500 jobs in supporting industries will be lost Ford Germany announced a new cut; several thousand jobs are at stake services and development center located in Cologne-Merkenich Having worked closely with IG Metall to cut jobs is now proceeding with mass layoffs in the Almussafes plant in Valencia despite it “winning” the bidding competition The company also reneged on its promise to develop an electric vehicle by 2027 Ford now says that only a hybrid model will be developed from that year onwards UGT stated that “despite the challenges we still have to overcome and considering the uncertainty we’ve faced in recent months today we can say we bring very good news.” This “good news” translated into the announcement of 1,622 layoffs have raised the alarm that even this contract may not happen Several of them have pointed out that by now Ford should have sent them Requests for Quotation (RFQ) for the production of parts and machinery needed for the new hybrid vehicle and there’s nothing.” Another said: “People are scared All we know is that we’re in for a tough time.” Ford’s latest redundancy scheme again exposes the UGT’s fraudulent promise that working with management to cut salaries would preserve jobs UGT is now accepting job losses without even a token protest or a strike their only proposal was to carry out job cuts with the same conditions as the previous ones via early retirement and voluntary redundancies UGT claims that improving severance pay or obtaining early retirement will solve workers’ problems are lies What is being proposed is a devastating assault on the industrial and social fabric of Valencia province But UGT Ford spokesman Carlos Faubel is proposing “social peace.” Last week he said that from now on in negotiations and in the possibilities of solving this in a positive way for everyone.” He added “we are convinced the company will have no problem in showing its availability and the role it plays so all this comes to fruition and we maintain social peace and the vehicle planned for 2027 is a success.” which workers in Ford and other industries have seen over and over again management said it had replied to UGT’s request to re-hire 1,000 of those laid off when the production of the new vehicle might begin Ford’s redundancy plan reveals critical lessons to be assimilated by workers in Ford Valencia and elsewhere tried to divide workers along national lines suppress the class struggle and imposing management’s diktat Ford Valencia and UGT acted in Almussafes just as IG Metall and Ford Germany acted in Saarlouis They facilitated layoffs by deceiving workers to block strikes and keep production running until the plant closure which has happened in Saarlouis and increasingly threatens in Almussafes There is no nationalist perspective to win such struggles Meanwhile the unions tie workers to a national framework then pit workers in one country against another to offer the most “competitive” conditions for the automakers Mass struggles have erupted across the auto industry in Europe and North America over the past two years but the unions worked together to keep contract struggles divided along national lines the Spanish bourgeoisie relies on pseudo-left parties like Sumar to subordinate workers to a nationalist Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz, who recently resigned as Sumar’s leader after its debacle in the European elections issued a brief statement: “We are witnessing today an ERE [Redundancy Plan] at Ford by a company that has significant profits.” However she quickly washed her hands of the situation cynically claiming this “is not within the competency of the Ministry of Labor.” Díaz bears direct political responsibility for what is happening. In 2020, she was appointed Labor Minister. Her flagship measure was a labor reform continuing the most reactionary elements of the one approved in 2012 by the right-wing Popular Party This reform allows companies like Ford to impose layoffs through EREs without incurring losses or requiring authorization from the Labor Ministry Spain’s PSOE-Sumar government has also aggressively lobbied to join the US-led trade war against Chinese exports of electrical vehicles (EVs) These tariffs could go as high as 48 percent It exposes Sumar’s support for the US-EU policy aiming to strangle and subjugate China Workers at Ford Almussafes cannot tie their future to pseudo-lefts like Díaz or the UGT bureaucracy Time is running out to prevent the closure of the Almussafes plant workers must organize across national borders independently and against their works councils forming rank-and-file committees democratically controlled by the workers themselves The World Socialist Web Site urges workers in Valencia to oppose the UGT’s treachery and build the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) to organize the fightback against Ford Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Welcome to www.automotivelogistics.media. 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Read our policy By 2024-11-04T20:40:00+00:00 Spain last week has hit automotive production in the region with tier one supplier plants affected and a significant impact on logistics Warehouses and distribution centres on industrial estates have been flooded which is affecting the supply chain The extreme weather has also disrupted rail and road links in the region resulted from the equivalent of one year’s worth of rain falling in just eight hours in Valencia and surrounding areas on Tuesday (October 29) The Andalusia region has also been affected hail and tornadoes are referred to as Dana a Spanish acronym that refers to a high-altitude isolated depression (depresión aislada en niveles altos) Ford confirmed that its operations at the Almussafes plant were closed on October 30-31 though there was no direct damage to the plant from the floods A spokesperson for Ford said around 500 workers at the Ford Almussafes plant spent the first night in the factory because the heavy rain prevented buses from reaching the plant.  The team at Almussafes is currently evaluating the full impact on suppliers and the status of the connecting infrastructure The plant will remain closed until November 11 because of the bank holiday on November 1 and the planned shutdown for the following week because of the Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE) in force at Almussafes The ERTE is a measure being taken by Ford for the regulation of employment until the end of the year Ford has negotiated programmed shut-down days with the union because production capacity is currently higher than demand Ford is going to introduce a new model for assembly at the plant in 2027 Ford’s spokesperson said it would have a clearer picture of the impact on the supply chain when the plant reopened The Spanish Association of Automotive Suppliers (SernAuto) issued a statement of condolence for the life lost in the storm and flooding It added that many automotive supplier factories and facilities have been affected by the storm their families and the competitiveness of businesses the A-3 and A-7 motorways have been affected in several sections causing serious disruption to traffic The collapse of the overhead line on the A-7 Mediterranean motorway has affected long-distance traffic on the Mediterranean axis More than 77,000 vehicles use the motorway every day 5,000 trucks move in and out of the port of Valencia every day using the road Spain’s General Directorate of Traffic (GDT) has issued a resolution of extraordinary traffic management that includes a ban on vehicles more than 7,500kg (loaded or not) that are not destined for Valencia Restrictions are being put in place at midnight on November 4 The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has declared a state of emergency and allocated around €24.8m ($27m) euros to begin rebuilding the roads most severely damaged by the flooding and landslides in the provinces of Valencia and Cuenca: the A-7 It said work is to begin imminently on these roads of strategic importance for the State Road Network €12.6m have been allocated on an emergency basis to rebuild the collapsed A-7 overhead section The remaining €12.2m euros allocated are intended for the reconstruction of the N-322 highway near Requena and of the N-330 in different sections throughout the provinces of Valencia and Cuenca Madrid and Barcelona have also been affected by damage to tracks and overhead lines The port authority of Valencia said that operations at the CSP MSCT and APM terminals had resumed and the reception and delivery of goods and both Valencia and Sagunto ports were operational on October 30 Keep up to date on the latest developments in the dispute affecting US east coast port workers affiliated with the ILA union and the US Maritime Alliance Legacy packaging is a roadblock to automated logistics Standardisation and strategic design can boost efficiency and reduce waste Kawa Ningbo vessel makes first China-Europe maritime express container shipment to Zhejiang Seaport Logistics at JadeWeserPort in Germany Site powered by Webvision Cloud The multinational automotive company Ford has a strategic location in Valencia thanks to infrastructures such as the Port of Valencia for its export activity Ford has an area of 150,000 square metres at its disposal in the Port of Valencia 2022.- The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) congratulates the Ford Almussafes plant after the announcement made by the North American company that it has chosen the Valencian factory for the production of its new GE2 electric models from 2025 a workload with which the Almussafes plant guarantees its continuity for the coming years managers and the entire automotive and logistics auxiliary company that has guaranteed with its commitment and effort the award to the Almussafes plant of the new electric models Ford’s commitment to Valencia has favoured the attraction of investment and the generation of economic activity around the automotive sector which has led to the creation of jobs and wealth for Valencia The Almussafes plant was inaugurated in 1976 after discarding the options of France and Italy thanks to the strategic location of Valencia and its logistics facilities such as the ports of Valencia and Sagunto The ports of Valencia and Sagunto are a great option for automobile traffic due to the extensive network of international connections as we have maritime connections with 1,000 ports on the five continents through more than 100 regular lines the Ford company has a surface area of 150,000 square metres in the Port of Valencia 50,000 m2 on the East dock and 100,000 m2 on the North Quay or Bracet de la Xità destined for export operations from the Almussafes plant and imports for distribution on the Iberian Peninsula Ford Almussafes exported around 85% of the 400,000 vehicles it manufactures 90% by sea through the Valenciaport facilities Thanks to this connectivity of the Valencian docks large industrial projects have opted for Valencia to develop their activity Valenciaport’s facilities are at the service of plants such as Ford the Volkswagen Group’s battery gigafactory or the thousands of import/export companies that use the Valencian docks as their gateway to the world Port Authority of Valencia © 2025 · All rights reserved TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and Informa we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities Moving 40% of Transit Connect production to Mexico would have jeopardized the jobs of 400 of the Almussafes MADRID – Ford will maintain production of the Transit Connect light-commercial vehicle at its Almussafes reversing plans to transfer 40% of production for the North American market – 35,000 to 40,000 units – to Hermosillo The automaker also will assemble the GDI 2.0L gasoline 4-cyl at its Almussafes engine plant starting in the summer of 2021 This is a version of the Duratec engine used in Transit Connect vans that are exported to North America although it shares the same architecture as the turbocharged 2.0L engine being produced at the Valencia engine plant The 2.0L and 2.3L EcoBoost gasoline engines now built at Almussafes will be produced in North America starting in 2022 Ford is investing $10 million in its Spanish plants Moving 40% of Transit Connect production to Mexico would have jeopardized the jobs of 400 of the Almussafes engine plant’s 1,000 employees The Transit Connect is the automaker’s second most-manufactured model in Spain behind only the Kuga subcompact confirm all Transit Connect production will continue there but they want Ford to award new models to the Spanish plant Production of the Transit Connect in Spain from 2024 is threatened by agreements Ford has signed with Volkswagen Group one of which calls for the next generation of the popular model to be manufactured at the VW Commercial Vehicles plant in Poznan Shifting Gears: What Car Buyers Really Want in 2025 Less is More: How Website Overload Sinks Your Sales This website is owned and operated by Informa TechTarget influences and connects the world’s technology buyers and sellers Informa PLC’s registered office is 5 Howick Place Ford Spain has announced a savage redundancy scheme to lay off 1,144 workers the trade unions signalled their readiness to work with management to impose these attacks in the space of three months The cut is a devastating exposure of the Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government which has showered Ford with billions of euros in tax benefits and claimed that attacks against working conditions were necessary to attract supposed investments to preserve jobs it has exposed the German and Spanish trade unions which organised last year’s fratricidal competitive bidding contest between Almussafes plant against Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany The one who imposed the most savage attacks on its workforce would secure the contract to produce electric vehicles Almussafes “victory” has only meant a new round of attacks The Almussafes factory will stop producing the S-Max and Galaxy models in April because Ford is accelerating its strategy towards the total electrification of its passenger vehicles in 2030 and of its entire portfolio in 2035 the Almussafes factory will keep the production of only the Kuga accounting for 62 percent of the more than 245,000 cars assembled in Valencia in 2022 The factory also assembles the Transit Connect but will stop making the version for the European market at the end of this year It is clear that this is just the start of the job onslaught director of Ford’s electric car division in Europe said that electrification would mean a reduction in jobs compared to combustion vehicles “The time it takes to produce an electric vehicle is significantly less than the time it takes to produce a combustion engine vehicle so we’ll need less capacity to build vehicles in the future According to the Valencian Association of the Automotive Industry (AVIA) Ford’s operations are responsible for nearly 25,000 direct jobs in the region of Valencia many of these are linked to the combustion vehicles Already in February, Ford Europe announced 3,800 job cuts across Europe over the next three years 2,300 jobs are to go and 1,300 in Great Britain The trade unions are not only refusing to mobilise workers in defence of jobs they have long agreed to the cuts behind the backs of the workforce and immediately announced their readiness to work with Ford management to impose them through so-called voluntary redundancies which won a majority of the union election votes last month translated into 22 delegates in the company committee reacted by bemoaning that it will be hard for them to impose the job losses on workers It stated: “This is a more than considerable volume of jobs [losses] which makes it difficult to reach an agreement that guarantees 100% voluntary leave through retirement support plans and incentivized leave We can say that a more than complicated negotiation is starting today.” “What [the company] is not going to be able to claim is that it will make the conditions of the previous [redundancy] plans cheaper in order to seek the greatest number of volunteers.” UGT has now called management to lower the age for voluntary redundancies under the previous job cuts agreed at 55 years This layer now represents only 600 workers in the plant after the UGT signed off on mass redundancy schemes over the past years the last one affecting 630 workers in April 2021 UGT cynically stated that “far from what the company intends what we will request from UGT at the negotiating table is that the exit age for a hypothetical plan be lowered below the 55 years agreed in the previous plan.” The UGT recalled the clause in the Electrification Agreement they signed last year allowing management to “reach an agreement to undertake the voluntary exits.” The whole deal has been exposed as fraud sold as a way of preserving jobs at the expense of workers at the Saarlouis plant in Germany The Electrification Agreement represents the most savage attack on workers in the Valencia plant’s 46-year history designed to ensure it “won” a fratricidal bidding contest against Saarlouis which under conditions of soaring prices due to NATO’s war against Russia in the Ukraine represents thousands of euros less for each worker workers were forced to vote via a union app It was thus impossible to independently count the vote The UGT has once again been exposed as a tool of Ford to ram through attacks. Last August, the UGT downplayed Ford Spain’s refusal to accept millions of euros in corporate bailouts from the Spanish government and the EU which signalled its intention to increase attacks on workers, reneging on its earlier commitments. UGT cynically claimed that investments “are not in question” and will preserve “thousands of jobs in very good conditions.” Portillo also claimed that the UGT suffered a 40 percent disaffiliation It shows that workers are seeking an alternative to oppose wage cuts and job losses Portillo promised “we are going to do everything possible as a union to fight and prevent all those cuts that the company can achieve with its majority union (UGT).” the same Portillo reacted to Ford’s jobs cuts announcement by stating “We hope that within 30 days an agreement can be reached that is so beneficial so that people can present themselves voluntarily [for the redundancy scheme].” The union then posted a 114-word statement stating that it “will work and fight to reduce the number of those affected in order to improve the production lines’ work rhythms and speeds to avoid harm to our health we will also fight to avoid traumatic dismissals.” The devastating expose of the unions shows that to secure their jobs and a decent standard of living workers at Ford and throughout the auto industry in Spain and across Europe need to create rank-and-file committees The WSWS urges workers in Valencia to contact the rank-and-file committee in Saarlouis and build the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) to organise the fightback against Ford and connect workers in a growing number of industries are the only way forward to organize a fight against job cuts Ford may build a new SUV at its facility in Valencia, Spain and while limited details about this model are known it could be a completely new model and have a hybrid powertrain The site currently handles the production of the Kuga SUV and employs 4,800 people It had been responsible for producing the Mondeo Ford confirmed its interest in building a new model in Spain but said it is still subject to a formal decision Read: Ford Recalls Mustang For Fuel Line, Bronco Sport, Maverick Over Misbuilt Tires “We are closely monitoring the evolution of the European markets for opportunities to enhance our current product offering,” Ford said in a statement “Given the changes we see in the industry we believe there is an opportunity to add an all-new multi-energy SUV to the Europe cycle plan While a final decision still needs to be made Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez praised the move on X Spain and the workers of @FordSpain,” he wrote “The company’s decision to produce electric vehicles guarantees the viability of the Almussafes plant for the coming years.” The General Workers Union (UGT) that represents workers at the factory also responded positively to the news telling Spanish publication Cinco Dias that “Almussafes will have a new vehicle and will maintain a sufficient workload.” Francisco Segura from the Valencian Automotive and Mobility Group added it was “positive news.” Limited details about this potential new model are known. If it is sold exclusively as a hybrid there’s a good chance it will only be sold in markets where hybrids are popular and fuel economy standards are strict headed by Carlos Pardo and Lucía Hernández has renovated Casa Ayora – on Calle Mayor in Almussafes a municipality in the comarca Ribera Baja – for museum use the building was a Dominican convent and then a private residence With the idea of establishing a dialogue between easily recognizable historical periods the project minimized changes in the layout of the interior with its room-specific Art Déco hydraulic-tile floors and wallpapering The rear courtyard now features a module that serves as a core for circulation elements and other services visually connecting with the existing stable combines different bonds in a play of lights and shadows The differently treated pavements in the garden (baked clay in what is a reinterpretation of the Valencian orchard of orange trees and grapevines Cliente ClientAyuntamiento de Almussafes  Colaboradores CollaboratorsMonica Calas (arquitecto técnico quantity surveyor) de Noema Restauradores (restauración restoration); Lourdes Roca (arqueología archaeology); Viabizzuno (iluminación lighting) Superficie construida Floor area 762m²; 1.043m² (parcela plot) there arent any match using your search terms Engine production would also be halted for 13 days next month Part of the Spanish production of Ford engines is sent to Canada for assembly of its Edge model The latest production shut down comes after a three-day halt in October Ford employs some 7,500 workers at the Almussafes plant which produces around 1,840 cars a day (Reporting by Robert Hetz; Writing by Paul Day) paul.e.day@thomsonreuters.com; +34 91 585 21 51; Reuters Messaging: paul.e.day.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) Annual production of 40,000 Transit Connect light-commercial vehicles exported to the U.S will be transferred from Ford’s Almussafes MADRID – Ford’s Almussafes plant in Spain by 2021 will lose annual production of 40,000 units of the Transit Connect it now exports to the U.S The automaker will assemble the next generation of the light-commercial vehicle in Hermosillo and Canada under the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Almussafes will continue building 70,000 Transit Connect units for the European market annually But production of the next generation could be transferred to Turkey where other models in the Transit range already are being manufactured The production shift from Almussafes to Hermosillo means about 400 of the current 7,291 jobs at the Spanish plant will be eliminated Almussafes currently assembles a daily average of 1,850 units of the Kuga (870) Almussafes is a flexible plant where all the models are built on the same assembly line Ford announced it would make extensive job cuts in Europe the automaker says there is an excess of 5,000 workers of the 24,000 employed there Ford already has announced it will close its 850-worker transmission plant in Blanquefort On 15 January the Spanish newspaper Economia Digital reported that the Ford Motors general works council headed by Benjamin Gruschka has offered to slash wages in Germany in order to undercut the Ford plant in Almussafes in Valencia the German union IG Metall has promised wage cuts of 18 percent and additional unpaid overtime amounting to 20 days per year The offer affects not only the 4,600 workers in Saarlouis but also all German Ford factories with a total staff of around 22,000 Workers at Ford’s main plant in Cologne and its development site in Aachen are also expected to take cuts The general works council had already announced in December 2021 that everyone would have to make “sacrifices,” calling the move “Solidarity for Saarlouis—a future for everyone.” The union remained silent about the extent of its offer to the company When the Ford group announced a few months earlier that its two plants in Saarland and Valencia would have to compete against one another for the contract to produce electric vehicles the respective workforces were shocked and spoke out against this policy of divide and rule on the part of management the works councils and union bureaucrats in Germany and Spain took on the task of organising a competitive bidding process and since then have repeatedly undercut one another IG Metall and its works councils remained absolutely firm on their offer to management submitted together with the Saarland state government headed by premier Anke Rehlinger (SPD) When Ford first announced in June last year that the group’s next electric model would be built in Almussafes and that the site in Saarlouis would be closed Thal has complained about the company's decision arguing that the IG Metall offer was allegedly 1.4 billion euros better for the company than the one from Almussafes the works council led by José Luís Parra of the trade union Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) led the bidding competition The Spanish works councils have now disclosed some information about the offer made in Germany The Ford plant in Almussafes is due to hold works council elections The UGT works councillors led by Parra had to justify the cuts they had agreed to in the bidding competition and which they are now in the process of implementing These cuts include freezing wages for the next four years wage increases of just 1.6 percent from 2026 as well as an extension of daily working times by 15 minutes and the cancellation of some holidays This adds up to a total of eleven days extra that each worker will have to work each year Aachen and Saarlouis are to receive 18 percent less pay and work an extra 20 days per year The exact terms of the offer remain unclear; 15 percent of the wage reduction was supposedly to come from cuts in contractually agreed wage components Ford employees are paid according to the North Rhine-Westphalian state contract for the metal and electrical industry Non-contractual wage components have not existed for a long time Thal and IG Metall offer cuts in these wage levels Or have they offered to forego future increases The remaining 3 percent of the 18 percent wage cut was apparently to be added by cutting the so-called “transformation pay” (T-train) first agreed in 2021 which allowed workers to choose between extra pay or up to eight additional days off the workforce in Saarlouis was expected to sacrifice 20 days off workers can save up 14 to 15 free shifts per year based on their current daily half-hour of extra work These 14 free shifts plus another six free days—presumably subtracted from the T-train agreement—would then add up to the total of 20 days This massive attack on workers’ pay and conditions was apparently worked out behind closed doors by a small cabal led by Gruschka Ford workers must demand that the scandalous offer made by the German works councils and union be fully disclosed The extraordinary factory meeting on January 23 in Cologne is a good opportunity to do so the workforce at the Cologne main plant were informed that their jobs would also be cut in which workers have united against the policy of the works council and IG Metall demanded that the IGM offer be made public but Thal and Gruschka have vehemently rejected this Once again it can be seen that the Ford Action Committee was absolutely right in rejecting the entire bidding process The committee warned from the beginning that the winner of the bidding competition was a foregone conclusion—the company and the works council leaders production in Saarlouis is due to cease in two and a half years at the latest and several thousand workers will lose their livelihoods the workforce not only faces wage cuts and extra work but also job cuts and even the possible closure of the plant Several Ford models are currently being phased out—the Mondeo already last year All that remains is production of the Ford Kuga and part of the Transit Connect production The start of production of the new electric vehicle for which wages will be reduced and working hours made more flexible has not yet been scheduled and could only commence in 2030 workers expect that several hundred will lose their jobs this year Already 700 workers are on short-time work every day Leon Trotsky wrote that the character of a trade union is expressed “by its relation to the distribution of the national income.” If the trade union officials “defend the income of the bourgeoisie from attacks on the part of the workers should they conduct a struggle against strikes then we would have an organization of scabs and not a trade union.” IG Metall is not only conducting a struggle against wage increases It is actively advocating and implementing wage cuts and cheap labour in an industry where workers were once among the best paid It is an anti-worker organisation that enforces the company’s attacks on the workforce There is considerable disquiet amongst the Saarlouis workforce Workers are asking how they can get rid of this corrupt works council once and for all and defend their jobs The current calm—sickness leave is up to 20 percent in some departments and just a few hundred workers still come to the works meetings—heralds a new wave of open opposition The important thing now is to prepare for what is coming Contact the Ford Action Committee and discuss a common policy for struggle Contact us and send a Whatsapp message to the following number: +491633378340 auto workers at the German automaker Mercedes-Benz plant at Vitoria the capital city of the Basque Country in northern Spain resumed activity after the summer holidays They do so under the new collective agreement imposed by the unions in June entailing savage wage cuts in exchange for a supposed billion-euro investment at the plant The agreement is now overshadowed by Ford’s recent announcement of a delay in investments in the Almussafes plant in Valencia the social-democratic General Union of Workers (UGT) rammed through the most savage attack on workers in the Valencia plant’s 46-year history to ensure it“won” a fratricidal bidding contest against Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany Reports indicate that there could be up to 3,000 job cuts at Almussafes The Electrification Agreement signed by UGT and Ford imposes a four-year wage freeze With the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures at 10.4 percent this would mean real wage cuts of 30 percent or more by 2026 This represents thousands of euros less for each worker Almufasses was supposed to receive investment to produce the new electric vehicles for Ford Ford announced it was renouncing free public money to invest in the plant signalling that a plant closure is still on the table The lesson at Ford is clear: workers cannot defend their jobs and salaries through the union bureaucracies The only way forward is to break with the unions and form independent rank-and-file committees to unify their struggles across Europe against plans by Mercedes They plan to ruthlessly restructure the industry at the expense of jobs the UGT and the Podemos-linked Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) unions rammed through wage cuts after a bitter struggle erupted at the plant against wage agreements below inflation levels Five thousand Mercedes autoworkers went on a nine-day strike supported by 95 percent of the workforce Workers then extended the strike in defiance of the unions’ attempt to limit it to a three-day action Workers opposed Mercedes-Benz management’s blackmail In what is now a recurring theme in autoworkers’ struggles Mercedes promised a €1.2 billion “investment plan” for electric vehicle production they demanded deep cuts to real wages and working conditions even though the corporation reported €16 billion in net profits last year Mercedes-Benz is determined to make autoworkers bear the brunt of a restructuring of the global auto industry that has already destroyed tens of thousands of jobs worldwide The aim is to turn workers into super-exploited temporary labor confident they could rely on the unions to carry out the attack CCOO and UGT have worked with management in the works council to impose Saturday night shifts Seizing on the opening of negotiations around a new collective agreement the company offered a 2 percent raise for 2022 and 1.8 percent raises each year until 2026 It also demanded an extension of working hours by establishing a sixth night shift and requiring more weekend work forcing the CCOO and UGT trade unions to call a three-day strike In protests in the streets of Vitoria and picket lines at the factory workers chanted “6th night no,” “CPI [consumer price index] Yes or Yes,” “[Mercedes general director of Spain Emilio] Titos slacker on Sunday you come” and “UGT and CCOO CCOO and UGT signed a pre-agreement with Mercedes in which the latter withdrew its demand for a sixth night shift allowing the unions to present it as a victory while the rest of the cuts remained LAB and ESK also assisted CCOO and UGT in their betrayal Posing as critics of the works council dominated by CCOO and UGT they called to extend the strike action by a few days while refusing to broaden the struggle to other sectors They had previously shown that when they control the works council they play the same role as CCOO and the UGT: they signed a 4 percent wage increase—massively below inflation—in a contract at Guipúzcoa These unions never sought to coordinate the mobilisation with others in the auto sector in Spain or internationally British workers employed at VFS Southampton Ltd who assemble large vehicles for Ford and Mercedes dealership technicians at Mercedes-Benz of San Diego went on strike In an atmosphere of misinformation and intimidation—CCOO and UGT re-tweeted management threats to close the plant if concessions were not accepted—the unions called a vote. Replicating the filthy tactics the UGT used at Ford Valencia in February, they held a vote via their app without disclosing the text of the contract 57 percent of workers voted for the agreement which represents a historic attack on the workers It slashes real wages by setting a wage increase for 2022 at 6 percent—four points below official inflation figures—and only 2.25 percent per year until 2026 This represents a loss of thousands of euros per worker in the coming years The “yes” vote was supported by the better-paid office workers while support for the agreement fell to 38 percent in the assembly line 46 percent in painting and 48 percent in the final assembly depot The vote showed that the group of workers that will mostly suffer the cuts is overwhelmingly opposed to it CCOO General Secretary in the Basque Country “we believe that the agreement that has been reached is a very good agreement and we want to put the emphasis that we have not lost anything because there are no regressive measures.” While workers are now working on the conditions of the new collective agreement Mercedes has not followed through with its announcement of a €1.2 billion investment A battle is looming once again at Mercedes and autoworkers have powerful allies—the millions of autoworkers and the billions of workers throughout the world who are beginning to fight back The urgent task is the development of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees to coordinate these struggles mobilize opposition to the union bureaucracies and the fight to unify these struggles across companies and national borders in the struggle for socialism At the factory meeting at Ford in Saarlouis on July 10 The closure contains important lessons for the working class beyond Ford and the automotive industry Jobs and wages can only be defended if Ford workers join forces with their colleagues in other plants and companies—in independent rank-and-file action committees and against the IG Metall The union and its works council representatives are the ones enforcing plant closures and mass redundancies—with early retirement partial retirement and severance schemes or so-called “transfer companies.” These were also part of the “social contract” that IG Metall presented to the 3,750 Ford employees in Saarland for approval in February around 2,700 workers have signed at least preliminary agreements that regulate the conditions under which they will finally leave the plant The 1,800 jobs at the 11 plants in the Ford supplier park will then also be destroyed only 1,000 employees will remain at Ford itself; 1,050 workers have applied for these 1,000 jobs What will happen to the surplus of 50 colleagues remains to be seen Ford has announced that it will finance these 1,000 jobs until 2032 it is unclear to what extent this commitment will be honoured The entire future of Ford in Europe is in question plastics production for other Ford plants is to be continued Saarlouis is the only Ford plant in the world to have bumper production (injection moulding) and Boron production (hot pressing) The slimmed-down plant will be closed for good in 2032 This is because the pharmaceutical company Vetter will begin building a production facility on the current Ford plant site in 2026 which is expected to employ up to 2,000 people by 2030 It is therefore quite possible that Ford will finally withdraw from Saarland before 2032 Works Council Chairman Thal announced that all “colleagues have a future.” That is one of his many lies he and IG Metall have destroyed the future of many thousands of Ford workers and their families Given the experience of the last five years it is time to take stock and draw the necessary conclusions Ford has been closing entire plants in Europe The works councils and trade unions have always done everything in their power to ensure that resistance to this has come to nothing In the bidding war between the plants in Saarlouis and in Almussafes (Valencia they played the two workforces off against each other and offered management huge wage concessions the details of which have been kept secret to this day When it was announced two years ago that the plant in Saarlouis was to be closed the works council and trade union did everything they could to prevent a serious fight in defence of the plant and the jobs The workforce was systematically demobilised to make the closure possible Toothless protests in well-measured quantities served above all to deflect the anger of the workforce IG Metall and the Saarland state government dictated that the workforce put all their hopes in an investor who supposedly wanted to take over the entire plant Hectic preparations then began for the final announcement of the closure the works council and IG Metall organised short protest strikes in mid-January 2024 in favour of a “social contract,” i.e. The plant closure that has now been initiated and the destruction of thousands of jobs is the result of this set-up that the works council Social Democratic Party (SPD) state government and company have been playing for almost three years IG Metall and its works council reps were only able to push through the closure of the plant because they used mafia-like methods to suppress all opposition The claim that there was no possibility of defending the plant and jobs was false from the outset It was the position of the union apparatchiks who sit on the Ford supervisory board and—just like management—put profits above the rights and interests of the employees which was formed on the initiative of the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) opposed this conspiracy from the outset and presented a perspective in defence of the plant In its first statement in January 2022 the action committee wrote: “We strongly reject claims by the works councils that there is no alternative to the blackmail of the intra-company bidding war and to wage and social cuts all the rights and social achievements won by workers—be it the eight-hour day safety at work and much more—were fought for in the common struggle of all workers against the capitalists.” A new political orientation was therefore necessary to resist the blackmail by management and the works council; one based on the common interests of all workers at all sites and opposed to the logic of the capitalist profit system the action committee warned that the intra-plant bidding war would only produce losers where 9,300 were employed before the bidding war only 3,200 are to remain after what is now the third round of redundancies The Spanish trade union UGT (Unión General de Trabajadores) and the works council it dominates are no different from IG Metall in Germany Another 1,600 jobs are currently being cut in Valencia; 600 employees will have to go while a further 1,000 are being put off with a possible “transitional solution” or an option to return when production of a new hybrid model starts in 2027 this is just as vague as Ford’s future in Europe in general It is already clear that Ford’s e-mobility targets will not be achieved just like those of other major manufacturers are now lagging behind in terms of technology and will find it difficult to catch up In an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau sociologist Klaus Dörre reports rather casually about a conversation with Ford works council members who told him: “We had a BYD [EV] taken apart and had to realise that we don’t understand the technology.” This is why the Asian manufacturers can also offer cheaper vehicles whose production has just started in Cologne production of which was discontinued there last summer which will roll off the production line in Saarlouis next year there is now a real danger that Ford will withdraw completely from Europe several thousand jobs are to be lost again must draw the necessary conclusions from the betrayal of their colleagues in Saarlouis Set up action committees independent of IG Metall and the other trade unions Get in touch with each other and join forces The redundancies and plant closures at Ford are just the beginning A jobs massacre is unfolding in the auto and supplier industry the likes of which the sector has not seen since the Second World War Volkswagen announced that it is likely to close its plant in Brussels due to weak demand for its Audi Q8 e-tron luxury electric car Every job must be defended unconditionally The basis of the struggle must be what workers need to live and not what the capitalists think they can get away with The myth of a lack of money must be rejected Hundreds of billions are being spent on armaments the war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza; they must be invested in jobs A common struggle in defence of all jobs is necessary and must no longer be postponed Draw the lessons from the Ford-Saarlouis experience and send a WhatsApp message to the following number: +491633378340 and fill in the form below The result has come that many workers had feared Ford Motor Company officially announced its decision to build its next generation of electric vehicles in Almussafes plus around 1,500 workers in the adjacent supplier park face redundancy when production of the Ford Focus ceases at the end of 2025 At the same time it was made clear to the 6,000 workers in Spain that they will also suffer as a result of the decision: with wage cuts were angrier with the union and the hypocritical charade by works council Chairman Markus Thal than with the company announcement “This is nothing but lies and deception,” one worker declared directly after the works meeting Last September the company announced it would close either the German plant in Saarlouis or the Spanish factory in Almussafes near Valencia At that time the WSWS warned that the works councils of both plants were outbidding one another with offers to make cuts thereby “trying to prove to the company board that their respective site could produce more profitably than the other.” The losers would be Ford employees in both plants The works councils in Germany are now pretending they fought to keep the plant open cheated and fooled,” claimed Saarlouis works council Chairman Thal The works councils refer to a “stitch-up” and “sham procedure.” it was a “stitch-up,” but the works council and the IG Metall union were and are part of the game The works council had sent out notice of the works meeting Wednesday to inform workers about the “status of the bidding competition” more than two weeks ago the works council was informed that the company had decided in favour of the Spanish plant—but nobody believes this The works council’s notices informed the workforce they should prepare for an extended meeting Wednesday beginning at 2:00 p.m “depending on the decision.” It is clear the works council already knew the decision While the works meeting was still in progress flyers were distributed under the heading “breach of promise,” calling for a demonstration and rally the police and the public order officials were informed about the action and were waiting for workers when they left the factory “You can’t organise and do something like this in a quarter of an hour,” said one Ford worker The version of the bidding process put forward by IG Metall and the works council at the meeting the protest rally and in leaflets prepared beforehand can only be described as bold-faced lies signed by its chairmen Benjamin Gruschka and Thal claims in its very first sentence that the works council had only been informed on the same day the pair declared they had “roundly” condemned the bidding competition they had themselves spent months organising They even had the nerve to claim they had tried to act in concert with their Spanish colleagues they did everything they could to ensure the closure of the Spanish plant by offering job and wage cuts and subsidies in Germany instead of organising a common struggle against Ford It was this spineless and submissive attitude oriented solely towards the company’s profits that encouraged management to demand even more cuts in Spain and wind up production in Saarlouis The works council is now boasting it would have offered up wage cuts not only in Saarlouis but in all of Ford’s German plants According to the twisted thinking of the union bureaucrats allowing workers in other factories to suffer in the bidding competition amounts to a “declaration of solidarity.” Instead of a joint struggle the joint renunciation of jobs and livelihoods is the new type of solidarity IG Metall is trying to impose are now huffing and puffing about the fact that the company failed to take into account the cuts the union had organised and that Valencia was unfairly awarded the new contract Their cries of “scandal,” “breach of promise” or “fraud” are akin to the pickpocket who shouts “Stop thief!” They themselves organised the bidding process hid it from workers and sabotaged any serious struggle to defend jobs the works council and the unions reject any struggle to keep the plant open and are offering their services to Ford management to organise the smooth liquidation of the factory Employees were due to be informed about further plans on Thursday “We will now have to work on alternatives for the Saarlouis plant.” This was the most important task for the coming weeks and months will do that just as intensively as we have done in the last few months.” At Wednesday’s press conference Thal announced he planned to negotiate social plans and tariffs He said that workers may strike to achieve these ends strikes for more favourable redundancy payments instead of defending the factory Wednesday’s rally gave a foretaste of the toothless protests the union now plans to organise The workers were given whistles to blow and let off steam and the protest was deliberately organised far away from the factory gates to prevent workers from contemplating occupying a gate or even the plant and actually going on strike Instead they were told that after 2025 the production of a model would end and were then carted off to a demonstration and rally where once again Thal and another representative of IG Metall feigned their surprise and anger just as they had done prior to the factory meeting Workers must draw the lessons from the past few years and especially the last six months If the workforce in Saarlouis allows the works councils and IG Metall to continue where they have now left off The gradual closure of the plant will impact the entire region leading to a rapid decline in wages and prospects Workers have reported that when they apply for alternative jobs such as 12 euros an hour working in logistics This is the future the works council is organising The workforce in Saarlouis should take an example from their Ford colleagues in India They are on strike and occupying the gates an action and strike committee should be set up to prepare militant measures to defend the factory contact must be made immediately with workers in India Contact the Ford Action Committee: send a Whatsapp message to the following number: +491633378340 the Recovery and Resilience Facility supports the investment in industrial production capacity for batteries for electric vehicles their essential components and the production or recovery of essential raw materials needed for them https://planderecuperacion.gob.es/noticias/... Some 90% of EcoBoost engines manufactured in Spain are shipped to North America to be installed in vehicles assembled in the U.S. The switch raises questions about the future of engine production in Almussafes MADRID – Ford will produce a new engine in North America beginning in 2022 eventually succeeding the current 2.0L and 2.3L EcoBoost 4-cyl facility and other plants around the world Some 90% of EcoBoost engines manufactured in Almussafes south of Valencia are shipped to North America to be installed in vehicles assembled in the U.S. Ford will announce details about the new engine and the North American manufacturing location in the future The switch raises questions about the future of engine production at the 43-year-old plant in Almussafes Ford says volume projections for engines currently built there remain strong and that production will continue until at least 2024 as about 1,000 workers are involved in engine production Ford has made considerable investments in the engine plant in recent years and even received a subsidy from the regional government of Valencia in late 2018 The engine plant is part of Ford’s larger operation at Almussafes the complex began building batteries for the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the Ford Kuga/Escape earlier this year The automaker will idle the complex for five days later this year to reduce production by 9,000 vehicles to compensate for Brexit’s impact on European car sales The action will not affect the engine plant a new volume is added to the main building which serves as a communications and services core the goal of the project is to allow the architecture to express its heritage images by milena villalba after restoring the derelict structure, TRAZIA works with a team of archeologists to renovate the interiors of the museo casa ayora and walls of each room were independently studied to modify as little as possible so that the focus of the intervention celebrates a true rehabilitation and enhancement of the existing the original hand painted art deco wallpaper is perfectly restored with great respect for its heritage to enhance the language of the original elements of the architecture the new details are expressed with such markedly contemporary materials as glass and steel the visitor will be able to identify the elements that belongs to the history of the building and the ones added in a recent stage.’ TRAZIA’s museo casa ayora intervention is defined by a new volume which occupies the site of the ruinous kitchen of the preexisting house seeking to create a dialogue between the new added volume and the existing building the newly completed facade is finished with solid ceramic brickwork the brick is a traditional material that coexists perfectly with the existing barn at the rear of the patio a play of light and shadow is created so the building looks entirely different between the day and the night architecture: TRAZIA arquitectura restoration: sofia martínez of noema restauradores photography: milena villalba AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style Abel Ruiz will join Girona FC this season following the agreement signed with Portuguese club Sporting de Braga for the transfer of the player adding flexibility to the team's attacking options in which he played as a youth player with FC Barcelona he started playing for Valencia until he signed for FC Barcelona in 2012 he made his debut with the Barcelona reserve team and later with the first team who eventually acquired him on loan and where he has since played in the Portuguese First Division The Valencian striker made his debut with the senior Spanish national team after being a regular in the lower categories of the national team he scored the fastest goal in the history of the U21 European Championships Place and date of birth: Almussafes (Valencia)