Ford foundry to close

29 March 2007

365 jobs to go in Leamington Spa
Plant making £10million annual losses
Parliament report calls for more investment

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Ford is to close a foundry in Leamington Spa, with the loss of 365 jobs.

The plant, which makes car parts, will close in July. The company said the plant was making losses of £10 million a year.

Ford-owned Jaguar closed its Brown's Lane factory in Coventry last year and the company sold off Aston Martin earlier this month.

News of the Leamington plant's closure comes on the day that the Trade and Industry Select Committee published a report warning that extra investment from both car manufacturers and government is needed to keep the UK car-making industry competitive in the face of new plants opening in Eastern Europe.

The report concluded that 'there may well be large-scale job losses, such as those at Ryton (Peugeot) and Ellesmere Port (Vauxhall) in the UK automotive industry in the future.' The high-profile collapse of MG Rover was also a key part of the committee's report.