Surprised me to hear that they will now be built in Turkey.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-23421784

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-23432322

Yes, I mentioned this on another thread last week.

 

The minibuses are already made in Turkey, now all production is moving.

 

There may or may not be other factors... but according to the Ford man I spoke to they asked to go 24hrs and were told no by the local authority in Southampton.

Currently the factory is limited to 8am - 8pm.  So you could say it's running at 50% capacity.

The factory has already closed, the last van rolled off the production line wednesday (24th). There was a large item on our local news with reporters in the plant as it left. It was on the news earlier in the year that the plant was closing.

Problem is, it's not just the 500-1000 jobs lost at Ford, which is bad enough.

It's all the supporting jobs, taxes coming in, extra welfare costs etc...

Real shame IMO.

Real shame but inevitable in fact , cost of work force, red tape and councils not allowing 24hr shifts but more than this turkey's position in the euro and the east, we will all be twiddling our thumbs soon as the jobs will eventually all go to Europe , it ay be because our reluctance to join the European party train and now the doors are being firmly closed on us ?, even the od freind " special relationship " USofA is not what it once was and they are holding hands with the euro celebrities

Doesn't help it's so expensive to take people on these days in the UK.

Once these new pension rules come in over the next five years it'll be even more expensive and it's bad enough already!

^^^^ yep boss ! We are no longer viable for these large factories due to many reasons the pension being one

Bet Southampton Councils are kicking themselves now, I think it's called shooting yourself in the foot.

Doesn't help it's so expensive to take people on these days in the UK.

Once these new pension rules come in over the next five years it'll be even more expensive and it's bad enough already!

 

 

At over £6 per hour, plus overheads (never mind the pension) you can employ a person for a week elsewhere for an hour or a day of a person in the UK.

At that point all the shipping and stuff just turns into noise.

 

TBH the cost of living has to come down in the UK before we can address this, but we're too busy supporting house prices so that doesn't happen.

It's a real shame, local businesses should be supported and encouraged to expand. If it was restrictions emposed by the council, that's pretty poor.

The goverment want to make more jobs but letting the likes of Ford making their vehicles elsewhere doesn't help.