PRODUCTION at Ford’s doomed Southampton Transit plant could be “disrupted” in its final months after furious staff at a key supplier decided to ballot over industrial action.

Workers at Magna Seating, a victim of Ford’s decision to close its Swaythling factory, have rejected a redundancy package after five months of tense negotiations.

They will now vote over whether to strike.

Unite union regional officer Fred Hanna said: “If they were to stop it would stop the production in Ford as well because they would have no seats.” A Ford spokesman last night said: “It is likely it would disrupt production when our aim is continuous production of Transits until the close of the plant in July.”

Around 30 jobs are to go at Magna Seating which has played a key role in the Transit production line over the years next door to the Ford plant, which is to axe 500 jobs.

Magna says “there is no longer a viable business case” for the facility in light of the Ford closure bombshell.

Since October Unite has been battling for what it believes is a fair settlement, comprising double the statutory redundancy pay plus one week of pay for every year worked and a goodwill gesture payment.

But Magna bosses came back with only double the statutory pay. Mr Hanna said: “Staff feel angry and are feeling they have been let down.

“They are going to be sacked come the end of June and walk out of there with a pittance.”

He said a worker on £320 a week and ten years’ service would be leaving with only about £6,000. Many Ford workers are receiving ten times that. “They just want an amount that will tide them over until they can find alternative work and I think they are entitled to this,” Mr Hanna said. “We will push the vote through in the coming weeks.

“In the meantime if the company want to reconvene negotiations and make an improvement on the offer we will attend any meeting.”

Magna Seating refused to comment last night.

Itchen MP John Denham, who has pressed the company and Ford for a better redundancy package, said: “Obviously at the end of the day they feel they had no alternative to get to this stage.

“I think it is disappointing that an agreement has not been reached five months after the sudden decision to close the plant.

“And certainly as a local MP I have always made it clear to Ford that they should have responsibility for their sub contractors and not just those directly employed and I hoped a way would be found to resolve it for everybody’s point of view.”