A day after Ford announced the shut down of its Maraimalai Nagar (Chennai) factory, the Tamil Nadu government said that talks are on for another automobile major to take over the operations of the unit. This comes as a huge relief to about 2,600 workers.
“Talks are on between Ford and another automobile maker and some other companies too. The state government will facilitate the smooth handover of the land if they reach a deal,” N Muruganandam, principal secretary (industries), government of Tamil Nadu said.
On Thursday, in a major announcement, Ford Motor Co. had said that it will shut its car factories in India, resulting in which manufacturing of vehicles for sale in India will stop immediately. While the Sanand vehicle assembly unit will be shut by the third quarter of the current financial year, the Chennai engine and vehicle assembly plants will stop operations by the first quarter of the next financial year. The decision is expected to affect over 4,000 employees and around 40,000 people employed with dealers.
The Chennai unit is spread across an area of 350 acres and had an annual production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines. The site has been manufacturing Ford EcoSport and Ford Endeavour and has seen investments to the tune of around $1 billion. It used to export cars to around 37 countries at one point.
On the other hand, the Sanand facility is spread over 460 acres and has an installed capacity of 240,000 vehicles and 270,000 engines per annum. The site manufactures Ford Aspire and hatchback Ford Figo and has also seen investments to the tune of around $ 1 billion.
The company said in a tweet that the decision to shut down factories is to create a new asset-light model, which is sustainable for a longer term but has no plans to leave India.
“Our major cause of concern is the jobs of employees in both the plants. Now, our employees are at home for almost a week due to the shut down. We want to listen to the offers that the company is coming up with and if they are going to hand over the plant to a new player, saving some of the jobs, that would be good,” said Suresh S, president of the Union at Maraimalai Nagar factory.
The Union may take a call on whether to take legal options or not only after the meeting.
