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Workers in new walk out at Ford transit plant

6:31pm Friday 24th October 2008

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ANGRY workers stormed out of Southampton's Ford plant tonight.

Around 40 walked out of the factory an hour before their shift was due to end marking the second walkout in one week.

The workers’ protests come after the motor giant announced plans to slash output from 75,000 vehicles to just 35,000 chassis cabs, cut jobs and export Transit production to Turkey.

Employees and unions claim if the plant is reduced to this level it will spell the beginning of the end for the factory.

One worker told the Daily Echo: “We have had a gut full. We are not being told anything and that is why we are doing this.”

This protest follows one at midday Monday in which more than a hundred workers downed tools and walked out.

Workers on the earlier shift also blamed Ford bosses for not giving them enough information about the future of the plant.

A Ford spokesman said: “I would reiterate that this is very disappointing and distracts from the real issue about the best way to make Southampton a profitable plant."

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Adrian Smith, Planet Earth says...
7:01pm Fri 24 Oct 08

"ANGRY workers stormed out of Southampton's Ford plant tonight"

Playing into the hands of management.

Will MP's really support employees there with this kind of action being taken?

Ford worker - for some there it's an oxymoron.

Militant Ford Worker, Eastleigh says...
7:31pm Fri 24 Oct 08

“I would reiterate that this is very disappointing and distracts from the real issue about the best way to make Southampton a profitable plant."

Mr Ford Spokesman, Southampton is a VERY profitable plant as well you know.

Why would you even consider running it til 2011 if it wasn't?

You mean "make Southampton as profitable as Turkey".

heres how:

Get a Wealthy Business partner to pay for the retooling of the plant.
Negoitiate tax concessions with the government.
Get cheap energy to power the plant from Iran.
Cut hourly pay to legal minimum wage.
Replace 37.5 hour working week with 45 hour rolling week.
Pay overtime at Flat rate.
Close pension scheme.
Scrap Sick pay.
Scrap Christmas and Easter Holidays.
Get the police to beat up Strikers.

There you go !

Just as profitable as Turkey now!
Easy!!



Mad Max, The Prairies says...
7:32pm Fri 24 Oct 08

And with that, it's good night for the Ford factory in Southampton....

what complete idiots... I bet the Ford management team in USA are laughing and rubbing their hands together as the British worked puts another nail in British manufacturing jobs coffin

Mad Max, The Prairies says...
7:33pm Fri 24 Oct 08

British worker that is.... not worked...

Bright Spark, Stubbington says...
7:37pm Fri 24 Oct 08

"What a suprise"! Ford workers walking out on a Friday night, can't be arsed to work its the weekend, would rather be on the sofa drinking lager.

sammy001, portsmouth says...
7:43pm Fri 24 Oct 08

I work at fords the only bloody angry workers are those that don't get told when anybody is walking out I am fed up with people who are anonymous who seem to know everything that is going on but don't communicate with anyone else,as for nick chaffey I as a ford worker of 20 years have never heard of him or seen him he is not recognised by our unite union.It's time somebody told the echo that they should not include the comments of this man in the same column as our own union.These people that are walking out are putting their jobs at risk,why aren't the union bringing the men together before the men walk out so then at least we are together as a unit and not making men isolated.

Militant Ford Worker, Eastleigh says...
8:01pm Fri 24 Oct 08

Mad Max wrote:
And with that, it's good night for the Ford factory in Southampton....

what complete idiots... I bet the Ford management team in USA are laughing and rubbing their hands together as the British worked puts another nail in British manufacturing jobs coffin
I really don't think Ford's US mangement will too worried about what's
happening on Swaythling B shift at the moment.
Have you seen the price of ford stock lately?
Or their October sales figures?
Laughing is the last thing they will be doing.
They are too busy running round the boardroom flapping their arms and clucking!

Mad Max, The Prairies says...
8:23pm Fri 24 Oct 08

Militant Ford Worker wrote:
Mad Max wrote: And with that, it's good night for the Ford factory in Southampton.... what complete idiots... I bet the Ford management team in USA are laughing and rubbing their hands together as the British worked puts another nail in British manufacturing jobs coffin
I really don't think Ford's US mangement will too worried about what's happening on Swaythling B shift at the moment. Have you seen the price of ford stock lately? Or their October sales figures? Laughing is the last thing they will be doing. They are too busy running round the boardroom flapping their arms and clucking!
just another reason for them to speed the shutdown up...

Antibacterial Face Wipe, Winter Haven Fl says...
8:51pm Fri 24 Oct 08

sack the lot of em, turn the place into a travelers park.


ex so'ton, Abingdon says...
9:16pm Fri 24 Oct 08

Yeah! Cheerio and good riddance to 'em all, they clearly do not want to work at all, ee-i-addy-o up the Dole Office they all do go and Job Seekers Allowance won't buy the kids any goodies this Christmas! Well played into the hands of the bosses once more. Like all the other car manufactures in the recent past it is always the workers that kill the Golden Goose, and it's the bosses get the blame.

Finlay, Des Moines Iowa says...
10:59pm Fri 24 Oct 08

I hope the voiciferous stirrers at Fords read these postings and accept their jobs are doomed.

Those with a light on in their loft will get as many paid hours as they can and step off the good ship Ford as it glugs beneath the sea and in to another job with a clean sheet and a good reference instead of "We apologise but we cannot furnish a reference for this candidate".

Is there anyone on Earth who cannot translate such a response to a reference request? Not a useful reference to have when 2M people are forecast to be unemployed by Christmas.

Just a quickie - The definition of recession is three consecutive quarters (3 month period) of zero or negative economic growth. You are officially in that right now.

So how many jobs will be available when 000's of former Ford employees come pouring out the gates at Swaythling?

Happy job hunting guys

PAUL Β, Mottisfont says...
11:26pm Fri 24 Oct 08

shιt performance, they deserve to loose their jobs all their own fault

damien thorn, west end says...
11:36pm Fri 24 Oct 08

today the economy has fallen off a cliff,turkeys and christmas come to mind,nothing like alienating a near bankrupt company,lunacy.

Finlay, Des Moines Iowa says...
12:00am Sat 25 Oct 08

Hey guys! You're gonna love this exert from the BBC at

http://news.bbc.co.u
k/2/hi/business/7686
552.stm
Mervyn King is the chairman of the BoE and his number two said this in the article

"Deputy bank governor Charlie Bean ...."

You're saved! Mr Bean is steering the economy.

I'd just like to say that its not looking the best over there right now.

Edward Nygma, Arkham says...
7:59am Sat 25 Oct 08

Well done Ford workers - the management now have approx 150 names to axe first

This may in fact save the rest of the plant who although dont like the thought of chassis cab, accept that in the current economic climate "its best to have a job than none!"

alineworker, soton says...
8:13am Sat 25 Oct 08

i see all the numptys have stuck their noses in yet again,you lot know absoloutly nothing about what is going on there,we had not built anything since 4pm the lines had stopped so no production was lost we only want to know what is going on fords dont work weeks in advance they work years ahead so why wont they tell us? cue more dopey comments!

PAUL Β, Mottisfont says...
8:35am Sat 25 Oct 08

alineworker wrote:
i see all the numptys have stuck their noses in yet again,you lot know absoloutly nothing about what is going on there,we had not built anything since 4pm the lines had stopped so no production was lost we only want to know what is going on fords dont work weeks in advance they work years ahead so why wont they tell us? cue more dopey comments!
oi maggot dick

dont blame the posters on here, blame the echo

AndyAndrews, West End says...
8:52am Sat 25 Oct 08

Nobody's asked for an ice rink to be built there yet....

Georgem, Southampton says...
1:07pm Sat 25 Oct 08

alineworker wrote:
i see all the numptys have stuck their noses in yet again,you lot know absoloutly nothing about what is going on there,we had not built anything since 4pm the lines had stopped so no production was lost we only want to know what is going on fords dont work weeks in advance they work years ahead so why wont they tell us? cue more dopey comments!
Perhaps you should put some effort into telling people what "the facts" are, then, rather than just indulging in mindless name-calling because you magically know more about what happens where you work than people who don't work there.

whoamitosay, Southampton says...
3:56pm Sat 25 Oct 08

They could always get a job at British Leyland... or have we not learnt anything!

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