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Before the closure: Ford plant in Saarlouis

Photo: Oliver Dietze / dpa

The Ford factory in Saarlouis is due to close soon - and could also cost many jobs at many suppliers in the region.

The workforce is fighting against this, currently with a strike.

The industrial action that began on Friday between employees of several companies in Ford's supplier park in Saarlouis is already having an impact on production at the Ford plant: "Production has stopped since this morning," said the US car manufacturer's spokeswoman in Cologne.

This is related to the strike: “The system is such that we receive parts from the supplier park.

And if they aren't delivered, we can't produce," she said.

At the start of the morning shift, IG Metall called on employees of five companies in the supplier park to go on an indefinite strike.

According to the union, a total of 500 people are employed in the companies: around 300 are affected by the strike in the morning shift and another 200 in the lunch shift.

According to IG Metall, the companies produce engines/transmissions, axles, body parts, cable network systems and exhaust systems, without which no car can be finished.

High severance payments at Ford

The company representatives of the five affected companies Magna, Benteler, Tenneco, Rhenus LMS and Lear Corp.

would have left IG Metall with no alternative but to go on strike.

In negotiations on a social collective agreement since July 2023, "there were no offers that could be agreed upon, but only a cheap fob," said IG Metall Völklingen negotiator Ralf Cavelius.

An ultimatum of February 29th and another two-day moratorium have expired.

A social collective agreement has been in effect for employees at the Ford factory since the end of February.

The agreements include the continued employment of 1,000 of Ford's 3,750 employees until the end of 2032, high severance payments and bonuses, the formation of a transfer company and qualification programs.

In addition, the end of production of the Ford Focus is to be postponed by six months to November 2025.

Now that Ford has a clear plan, employees in the supplier park are demanding “clarity and security from their employers,” the union said.

At the same time, says Uwe Zabel from the IG Metall district management center, “IG Metall is also signaling that it is ready for further negotiations at any time.”

The only condition is the submission of an offer that comes significantly closer to the key parameters mentioned so far.

beb/dpa