Jun 6, 2019
Ford to close UK’s Bridgend engine plant
US carmaker Ford will close its Bridgend engine plant with the loss of 1,700 jobs, blaming changing customer demand and lost work, in the latest blow to the UK motor industry. The company blamed the loss of contract work for Jaguar Land Rover and falling global demand for the remaining petrol engine made at the site, the 1.5l Dragon engine. A year later, JLR announced it would take its engine manufacturing back in-house at its engine site in Wolverhampton from 2020, a move that stripped Bridgend of a significant portion of its work. Even though all of the Ford engines from Bridgend are exported, and use predominantly imported components, Mr Rowley insisted that the decision was not driven by Brexit, but instead is part of Ford's plan to save $11bn globally by overhauling large parts of its business. The move also throws focus on to Dagenham, Ford's other engine plant in the UK, which also lost a key JLR engine contract.
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