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| Ford to cut 365 jobs in Midlands | Ford to cut 365 jobs in Midlands |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Ford has said it is to close a foundry in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with the loss of 365 jobs. | Ford has said it is to close a foundry in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with the loss of 365 jobs. |
| The facility, which makes parts for the firm's vehicles, will shut in July after the company decided it had become too uncompetitive. | |
| Ford said there would be no compulsory lay-offs, but unions said it would support "any action" its members decided to take in response. | |
| Ford has cut back its interests in the UK over a number of years. | |
| Jaguar ended production at its Brown's Lane plant in Coventry in 2006, while luxury UK carmaker Aston Martin was recently sold to a consortium headed by former rally driver Dave Richards for £479m. | |
| Redeployment offer | |
| Ford said the foundry, which it bought in 1940, was making annual losses of about £10m. | |
| Again a major employer has made a decision to close a UK plant without proper consultation Roger Maddison, Amicus | |
| Progress had been made in recent years in cutting costs at the factory, the carmaker said, but it stressed that industry-wide conditions remained difficult. | |
| Staff will be offered early retirement, voluntary redundancy or redeployed to other parts of the business. | |
| "Where there is a risk to our competitiveness we have to tackle it," said John Fleming, chief executive of Ford Europe. | |
| Union reaction | |
| Union officials condemned the decision, saying the plant was one of Ford's most efficient operations in the UK. | |
| "Again a major employer has made a decision to close a UK plant without proper consultation," said Roger Maddison, national officer at Amicus. | |
| "Amicus will support any action our members decide to take in order to reverse this decision and protect UK manufacturing." | |
| Ford has suffered serious financial problems in the US amid falling sales. | Ford has suffered serious financial problems in the US amid falling sales. |