Ford Closes Three EU Plants In A Week. Analysts Love It

October 25th, 2012 9:54 AM

As expected, Ford is closing an UK plant. Unexpectedly, Ford is closing another one right with it, bringing EU plant closings to three in two days. Ford is closing its Ford Transit plant in Southampton, and it is closing the stamping plant in Dagenham with it, says Automobilwoche [sub].

“In 2013 Ford is closing its stamping plant in Dagenham and the Transit van plant in Southampton and that could lead to the loss of a couple of thousand jobs,” said union leader Roger Maddison.

This is part of a restructuring plan to stem losses in Europe, expected to exceed $1.5 billion this year, says Reuters.

According to Ford, installed vehicle assembly capacity will be lowered by 18 percent, with related gross annual savings of $450-500 million. Thirteen percent of its European workforce will be affected by the restructuring.

Ford expects to lose $1.5 billion this year in Europe. By 2015, Ford’s Europe business is projected to be back in the blacks again.

The plans were well received by financial analysts. “With GM Europe you always wonder what’s going on – it looks like they are still bogged down in deciding what to do,” London UBS analyst Philippe Houchois told Reuters.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe Ford is “demonstrating the vision and industrial courage” to make tough decisions that will pay off long-term, Reuters says.

According to USA Today, Ford’s move “could break the logjam and give other automakers permission to announce similar shutdowns.”

Europe has factory capacity to build about 22 million units a year. This year, sales of 14 million are expected.

#BertelSchmitt #Europe #Ford #PlantClosure #UK

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6 of 26 comments

Tresmonos on Oct 26, 2012

This is sad in the sense that Ford is now going to be out of the UK. I always have held an illogical nostalgia to old manufacturing sites.

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- Dtremit on Oct 27, 2012
  
  There's still a sizable engine plant at Dagenham that's reported to be adding a few jobs.
  
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Chicagoland on Oct 26, 2012

"Cadillac comes out with a sporty RWD sedan, Lincoln comes out with a sporty RWD sedan" The Catera was pure junk. Just read the posts whenever Murlee shows a Catera in scrap yard.

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- Ranwhenparked on Oct 26, 2012
  
  Yes, it was, but Ford would have had no idea at the time they authorized development on the LS as a future competitor. In fact, even when the Catera first went on sale, it was greeted with significant critical acclaim. It was only after they went into regular use among the general population that their faults started coming to light.
  
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- El scotto on Oct 27, 2012
  
  @ranwhenparked Experts,whose livelihood is to praise vehicles, praised the Catera. Then the general public, i.e. paying customers, started complaining about how bad their cars sucked. GM learned nothing from the X Car debacle. The LS was no great shakes either.
  
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- Highdesertcat on Oct 27, 2012
  
  @ranwhenparked "GM learned nothing from the X Car debacle." And to take that one step further, no one can deny that the Volt is the most advanced vehicle GM has ever put on the market, and the "Experts,whose livelihood is to praise vehicles, praised (it)." Initially, at least. Ahhh, we all had high hopes. But, like the X Car, the Volt never caught on because, like the X Car, it was the answer to a question never asked by the "general public, i.e. paying customers." Now, if the planet would suddenly run out of oil? Conceivably that could be a game changer.
  
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