Carmaker Ford’s decision to shut down its engine and vehicle assembly plant at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai by the second quarter of 2022 will put the lives of over 2,600 employees in Tamil Nadu at risk. While some employees said they had been expecting the move for months, many were in for a harsher shock on Thursday.
One of the most senior employees, who is also part of the union, said he had been informed of the closure and said negotiations on the deal would begin in the coming days. “We expected them to cut production. Closing the plant is something we never saw coming,” he said.
The company said in a message to its employees that it would work closely with employees, unions, dealers and suppliers to take care of those directly affected.
Another employee said there was no production at this plant last week. “We were told that there is a shortage of raw material. Many workers are now at home. It is only after hearing the news that we understand that it was a tactic.”
employees who Hindu said he had no information on when production would resume, and when he would have to report back to work.
He said the company had said it would announce the date of joining in a day or two. Many were upset that the company had recently given them an average annual hike of ₹8,800, and now the news was bad.
Read also: The future of Ford’s 2,600 employees is at stake
Deputy General Secretary, Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Tamil Nadu S. Kannan said the workers had recently signed revised wage agreements for only one year, and at the time, CITU indicated that something was not right. “We asked him why the agreement was only for one year and not for three. “And now, even their final settlement will not be that big,” he said.
Thousands of indirect workers will also suffer due to the bandh, but their actual number is not available. Workers, many of them in their mid-40s, are also concerned that with the pandemic, job opportunities in automobile hubs have shrunk.
The carmaker first ventured into Tamil Nadu in 1996 and has so far invested over ₹5,161.4 crore in the state.
MSMEs and Suppliers
Several MSMEs in the Irungattukottai region, which supply raw materials and spare parts to Ford, have expressed concerns about the plant’s closure. He says that this will reduce his business a little. “It is too early to determine its impact, but some firms will certainly suffer,” said the owner of a firm in the area.
Convenor of the Association of Indian Associations, KE Raghunathan, said it was not Ford that was shutting down, but more than 4,000 SMEs shutting down operations.
“The worst that was anticipated has happened. The auto sector has expressed its concerns on several occasions in the last four years, but no one acknowledged them,” he said.
Shri Raghunathan said that the MSME sector is mainly involved in the production of car parts such as upholstery, leather, dashboard, clutch, brakes, gearbox, tires and handles.
.