Ford had been hopeful that it would be able to sell its factory in Saarlouis, Germany but talks with a potential investor have fallen through and the site is now on course for a thorough makeover.
Unnamed sources assert that Ford had held discussions with a number of Chinese automakers who were said to be interested in purchasing the plant. It is understood that a Chinese company pulled out of a deal at the last minute having originally had plans to sign a binding preliminary agreement by September 30. Companies thought to have been interested in buying Ford’s plant included BYD and Chery Automotive.
The site currently builds the Focus but production of it will end in 2025. Ford didn’t just hold discussions with other car manufacturers but sources have told Bloomberg that it also discussed a potential sale to a German manufacturer of solar panel modules. No less than fifteen possible investors expressed interest in the plant.
The boss of Ford Europe’s passenger car business, Martin Sander, informed workers at the plant that it would look for an alternative plan that would allow it to save 1,000 of the 4,400 jobs at the factory. Ford says this plan would see it convert the site into a technology center but further details about this center are not known at this early stage.
The union representing workers at the site expressed frustration at the news and said it would work to finalize a collective bargaining agreement for those workers who will lose their jobs.
Read: Ford To Build 250,000 EVs Per Year In New German Plant, Starting With VW-Based Explorer
“This will be expensive for Ford,” union representative Joerg Koehlinger said. “We will send a signal so that other companies will be afraid to flatten sites.”
We’ve known of the impending demise of Ford’s Saarlouis plant since mid-2022 when the carmaker announced that its factory in Valencia, Spain had been selected to build future electric vehicles for the European market, rather than the Saarlouis factory.
