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Plaid leader Adam Price has urged the First Minister to consider temporary nationalisation of Ford in a bid to ensure the sale of the Bridgend plant.

Mr Price has called on the Welsh Government to consider the step to help make sure a sell-off goes ahead and is not blocked by the car giant.

He said Ford has previously stopped the sale of its Bordeaux plant in December 2018, which was due to shut its doors with the loss of around 1,000 jobs, in a bid to avoid a similar situation from arising in south Wales.

Ford unveiled plans to end its production at is Blanquefort plant in France by August of this year with 850 job losses.

But they stepped in and blocked potential buyer Punch Powerglide from saving the factory and keeping 400 jobs in place with the backing of 15 million euros of French state and local authority cash as the firm saw it as market competition.

(Image: PA)

It meant all the jobs at the plant were lost but union bosses have been fighting tooth and nail for the French government to temporarily nationalise the plant in order to secure the sale.

Mr Price, who was among the Plaid politicians who staged a public meeting in Corntown, near Bridgend, for workers at the plant on Monday night, said he believed the policy should be adopted by the Welsh Government in case Ford adopt the same policy over the French plant.

A total of 1,700 jobs will go when the plant shuts in South Wales.

He challenged Mark Drakeford to take the step in First Minister’s Questions and said: “Have you studied recent developments around Ford’s closure of its French plant in Blanquefort announced last year with the loss of 850 jobs?

“A buyer was found by the French Government who put together an investment package, but the Ford Motor Company blocked the sale on commercial grounds leading to the loss of those 850 jobs.

“Would you be prepared to step in and support a policy of temporary nationalisation if Ford proves similarly obstructive here?”

(Image: Getty Images)

First Minister Mr Drakeford declined to answer the question during the Senedd session.

Ford, which is looking to shed 7,000 jobs worldwide within its operations, blamed a combination of cost disadvantages, changing customer demand and an absence of additional engine models for Bridgend for not making the site cost-effective in the future.

The plant, which is earmarked for closure on September 25, 2020, faces the loss of its Jaguar AJ-V8 next year as it did not win the demand expected along with a fall in the number of Ford petrol Sigma engines being made from next month.

Meanwhile, the new Dragon engine also did not have the demand anticipated.

Both Dagenham and Dunton Technical Centre, home to Ford’s European sales-leading commercial vehicle business, will continue to operate as usual.

Bethan Sayed, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, who was also involved in the meeting with workers, added: “I believe all options must be on the table and all ideas should be considered.

“The focus should be, if we can, on keeping skilled and highly paid jobs at this site and we’re ready to work with unions and the workforce and anyone else, if that is what’s desired.

“In Wales, we’re supposed to have a Labour government which considers ideas and interventions to protect hardworking people from the harder edges of the market, so I’m surprised that Labour seem to be so dismissive of our offers to help.

“Ultimately, our concern is the workforce and the impact this will have on Bridgend and the wider economy.

“We need to do what we can to protect Bridgend – and South Wales’ – as a centre of manufacturing and to make sure there are skilled jobs available.

“We will continue to do what we can to fight for this and ensure workers at Ford get the best outcome that they can.”

(Image: Getty Images)

First Minister Mark Drakeford speaks out about the Ford Bridgend closure

Stuart Rowley, president of Ford of Europe, who ruled out Brexit as a reason behind the plant’s closure, added: “Creating a strong and sustainable Ford business in Europe requires us to make some difficult decisions, including the need to scale our global engine manufacturing footprint to best serve our future vehicle portfolio.

“We are committed to the UK; however, changing customer demand and cost disadvantages, plus an absence of additional engine models for Bridgend going forward make the plant economically unsustainable in the years ahead.

“As a major employer in the UK for more than a century, we know that closing Bridgend would be difficult for many of our employees.”

He added: “We recognise the effects it would have on their families and the communities where they live and, as a responsible employer, we are proposing a plan that would help to ease the impact.”

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