"The financial crisis in Europe has not led to a change of plans for the plant in Craiova. The value of the investments remains the same - 675 million euros, and we have no intention of reducing the number of employees," said Hans Juergen Fuchs, manager communications for European Direct Markets at Ford Europe.
John Fleming, Ford Europe president, announced during the Auto Show in Moscow at the end of August that the first recruitment drive for the manufacturing centre in Oltenia would begin in 2010. The current staff at the plant in Craiova (3,900 employees) will cover, according to John Fleming, the current production needs of Ford, which is approximately 30,000 Ford Transit Connect units in 2009.
"Ford's plans concerning the establishment of a National Sales Company in Romania on August 1, 2010, are not influenced by the current market conditions," Hans Juergen Fuchs said.
Ford Europe will manufacture three vehicle models in Craiova as of 2011. Beside the light utility vehicle Transit Connect and the future small class model, the American carmaker will also make a medium class utility vehicle, most likely the next generation Ford Transit, which will be aimed at the European market.
Transit Connect utility vehicles, currently made at the Kocaeli plant in Turkey, will start to be exported to the United States next summer. According to sources on the market, the small class car will be the first generation of B-Max that will replace the current Fusion.
The European car market fell 4.4% in the first eight months of this year compared with the same time last year, to a volume of 11.7 million cars, while the decline in the eurozone stood at 5%, and dropped to 10.5 million units.
The steepest declines in terms of volumes sold were registered on "traditional" markets like Spain (minus 22%), to merely 0.9 million units and Italy, minus 11% to 1.9 million cars.
"In response to the current conditions on the market that are affecting the automotive industry, especially 'traditional' markets in Western Europe and based on the current estimates, Ford will lower production at most plants in Europe in the remaining months of this year. This will be a marginal reduction compared with the previous year's output. Even before the financial crisis, most European carmakers, except Ford Europe had unused production capacities," Fuchs stated.
Ford Europe plants operated at a 100% or more capacity, following the introduction of an additional shift.
"We certainly need to take steps to make sure we maintain our production capacity at the same level as demand and this way we will retain our competitive edge," Fuchs added.
Going against the current trend, Ford will rehire 1,000 workers in the United States, at a plant in Michigan, in January, as it anticipates rising demand for the new pick-up model.
The number of jobs at Ford Craiova will be increased to a figure of between 7,000 and 9,000 until 2012, which could lead to a total number of up to 36,000 jobs, while the total investment is expected to reach 675 million euros.
Source: zf.ro
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