Bumpy road ahead for Ford India as talks with unions on separation flop

Workers at both units set to get into a protracted feud with the management over closure terms and job security

After General Motors India, it’s the turn of workers at the soon-to-be-shuttered factories of Ford India to get into a protracted feud with their management over the terms of closure.
 
Signalling a bumpy road ahead for Ford India, workers at company’s plants at Maraimalai Nagar in Tamil Nadu and Sanand in Gujarat rejected any discussion on a severance package, laying emphasis on job security instead, according to union members who were part of the meeting.
 
Addressing the concerns of the 4,000-odd workers at both the units, representatives of the Ford management informed them that there was nothing concrete so far regarding the sale of the units or a contract manufacturing agreement with another company.
 
“We refused to even talk about any package and were not ready to agree for anything. The only demand that the unions lined up in today’s meeting was job security. We want our jobs,” said Suresh S, president of Chennai Ford Employees Union. A similar scene played out at Sanand, with the union taking a tough stand on job security.
 
In an email response, a Ford India spokesperson said: “We are committed to working closely with our employees and union to care for those impacted by the restructuring. We will keep you informed as we progress on all important matters and have nothing to share today.”
 
At Sanand, the union hasn’t specified its demands yet as it is waiting for clarity from the management on the future of the plant. “The management had no answers regarding the future of the plant. The workers’ job security is paramount to us and we need an assurance on that,” said a union leader at the Sanand plant, declining to be identified. Ford will cease producing cars completely by December, running only the power-train unit, he added.
 
GM precedent
 
The discussions between the Ford management and its workers has started even as a clean exit from the Indian market has eluded General Motors India. It stopped selling cars in India from December 2017 and production stopped at the company’s Talegaon plant in the beginning of 2020. But its exit is far from complete.
 
The stalemate began after GM’s deal with China’s Great Wall Motors was inconclusive because of non-issuance of ‘non objection’ by the Indian government. GM’s union and its management have been sparring over a severance package the company offered, which was refused by the union even after the extension of the deadline.
 
Hence, in July, the company laid off 1,086 workers who refused to accept a voluntary separation package. This has led to a legal battle with the union approaching the industrial court against the company and has termed the retrenchment illegal.
 
“Offering a separation package is the tactic even Ford will use. But the package cannot compensate for job security. They will ‘find a buyer’ soon after workers leave. This is becoming a norm,” said a member of GM’s union, declining to be identified.
 
Production stalls
 
Meanwhile, Ford executives assured the workers at both the units that they would revert after getting clarity from the top bosses. There was hardly any production at both the units as the discussion between the workers and the management went on for hours. The management representatives refused to respond to any talks about handing over the plant to another contract manufacturer.
 
In Chennai, the company’s management clarified that there was nothing formal regarding the takeover of the unit by another player.
 
Last week, the Tamil Nadu government had assured workers that their jobs would not get affected as the company plans to sell the unit to another entity.