Despite promises made in 2010 to keep its Genk plant open in exchange for pay cuts and public subsidies, Ford has announced that it will close the plant in 2014. The closure will affect over 4000 workers and an additional 5000 workers at the plant’s suppliers. The production of the S-max, Galaxy and Mondeo that were earmarked for Genk will be moved to Valencia. Genk’s mayor and Belgian prime minister Di Rupo have called the closure a disaster for the regional economy. The Flemish prime minister has agreed with Belgian banks on a scheme that will relief the financial burden on those Ford Genk workers that are paying off big loans.
English:
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/24/black-day-for-belgium-as-ford-closes-factory-putting-4300-out-of-work/
http://www.flanderstoday.eu/content/%E2%80%9C-so-unjust%E2%80%9D
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9b4104aa-1dbe-11e2-901e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2AxltVnie
http://internationalpoliticalforum.com/over-capacity-or-what-does-the-closing-of-ford-genk-teach-us-about-europe/
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.