3. 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:05 pm on 4 October 2017.
What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of the announcement that Ford Bridgend will lose contracts with Jaguar Land Rover post 2020? (TAQ0049)
We are calling on Jaguar Land Rover to confirm that the move will not sacrifice jobs in Wales. The First Minister and I recently met with Ford and with union representatives to discuss the long-term future of the plant, and I’m pleased to say a working group will explore all possibilities for the facility.
Thank you very much for that response. The first clear signs that I got of trouble emerged in March, and on 21 August the workforce, as you will know I’m sure, voted for industrial action, which has now been put on hold. It has been known and said by members of your own Welsh Government that working practices have been allowed to grow as an issue for a number of years. We did have a cross-party meeting in May with trade unions where such concerns were raised. Unions and the workforce wanted intervention then and they wanted help to diversify then and mediation with the management then. So, I’m just curious as to why it’s taken to this particular point for the task and finish group to be set up. What other mitigating circumstances meant that this wasn’t set up sooner? I’d like to understand who will be on it and how it will report to you. Will it come to us as an Assembly and will it focus on diversification? Representatives from Ford have said that the new Dragon engine could be used as a base for a hybrid power unit in Bridgend looking at next-generation cars. So, can you assure us here today that this particular task and finish group will focus on Bridgend becoming that automobile hub and improve the status in developing new technologies in the area? I think that what Ford workforce are telling me, and others I’m sure, is that they want to be able to look at new ways to sustain that plant in Bridgend, and we need to do that now.
Absolutely. I’m very grateful to the Member for recognising the importance of the working group that’s been established in true social partnership between Welsh Government, Unite the union, Ford and the Welsh Automotive Forum. It will explore all options for the facility including new technologies in electric and hybrid engines. It will report back to me on a regular basis, and I give my undertaking in turn to report back to this Chamber on a regular basis as well.
Unite have helpfully confirmed that their preference is for dialogue rather than for formal industrial action. That’s a very welcome move by the union, and I’m pleased to say as well that the First Minister has offered to act as a broker between the plant and the union. Again, this has been very well received. There is no doubt that the face of the automotive sector is changing, that new technologies present both opportunities and challenges, but, with the £100 million ready to be invested in the automotive and technology park in Ebbw Vale, there is a huge opportunity for companies like Ford to take advantage of those emerging technologies that will dictate the future of the sector.
In terms of other activities in this area, I went to Cologne to meet with Ford’s most senior officials in Europe in the summer. I was pleased by the response. Ford Europe and Ford Britain have expressed their wish to explore all options for the long-term future of the Bridgend site, and there is a real desire to reduce reliance on the traditional engines and to focus instead on the hybrid engine production and other emerging technologies. Deputy Presiding Officer, I’d like to say as well that we are calling on JLR to confirm that this move will not sacrifice jobs in Wales and displace them instead to the west midlands of England.
I thank Bethan for bringing this to our attention today. It is very urgent, and it was very disappointing news that we had the confirmation that this production line would be ending, but not only that—ending three months earlier than had ever been discussed before. It clearly shows that this JLR production line have an intent to get away as early as possible, and that’s hugely disappointing. I am grateful for the positive way in which the Minister and the Welsh Government have approached this. We’ve met not only with the unions as Assembly Members, but Chris Elmore and I met with Ford’s representatives in Westminster a week and a half ago to lobby the case for future investment in the plant. They wanted to stress that they wanted to positively engage in dialogue, not only with the unions, but also they were very complimentary of the Welsh Government’s role in investigating all possible avenues of bringing not only what we would call traditional drivetrain production to their new models, but also things such as electric vehicle production or battery production, and so on. It’s good, and I urge the Minister strongly to go ahead with that.
But he finished on saying that point about where the JLR production is shifting to. We have picked up worrying signals that this JLR production is shifting to—and shifting earlier than expected—a plant in Wolverhampton based on direct UK Government support for a new automotive production line. If that is the case, that is directly stealing away jobs that should be in Bridgend, where they’re desperately needed. In which case, if he could raise this with the Secretary of State in his discussions and if he could ask the Secretary of State: what are they going to put back into south Wales and Bridgend to make good for this? Because if it’s true that UK Government investment is stealing these jobs from Wales, then we want that investment back to create more jobs and to sustain the jobs that are currently here.
Can I thank the Member for his questions and for the passion with which he asked them? He is wholly committed to the workforce of Ford in Bridgend, as is the local Member and others in this Chamber, and I’d like to congratulate him on seeking and securing that meeting in London, which I think, in terms of the briefing that he’s offered to me, was incredibly productive. We knew that the Bridgend plant would see the AJ engine reduce in capacity as the Wolverhampton manufacturing plant came on stream. However, I am seeking assurance that the UK Government has had no role in transferring work early to the Wolverhampton site. It’s absolutely essential that the UK Government operates in a way that benefits the whole of the UK and rebalances the UK’s economy, as outlined in the UK industrial strategy.
I can also say that my officials are currently engaged in discussions with UK Government officials and with the Automotive Investment Organisation to investigate complementary uses of the Bridgend site to secure future opportunities, including investment. This is an important development. It could also align neatly with the challenge fund, and in particular with the Faraday challenge. To that end, I was pleased, during the summer, to also meet with Richard Parry-Jones, who has a crucial role in that particular challenge, during which we discussed many opportunities that could be relevant to Ford Bridgend.
Obviously, this is bad news, particularly as there’s an escalation of the likelihood of production ending there. I’ve heard in your answers today and, to be fair, in the last six months, or even longer, that Ford and the auto industry is undergoing rapid change and that they continue to look for other high-tech opportunities for Bridgend. We’ve heard today that you’re very pleased with the conversations with Ford and attempts to gather information from around Europe and the rest of the world—I think that was a quote from earlier submissions here. This is all very encouraging, but I’m not actually getting a solid sense of when some specific commitment would be made by Ford. I do understand it’s Ford that needs to make it, rather than Welsh Government. At some point, are you putting pressure on Ford to say, ‘Actually, can you give us some sort of solid answer by a given date?’? I’m not suggesting what that date may be, but to bring some certainty into the process.
Secondly, I wonder if you’d be kind enough to answer a question that you didn’t answer that Bethan Jenkins put about the working group. Certainly, when the unions communicated with all relevant Assembly Members that this group was being set up, there was an indication that AMs would be involved in that, and I’m not sure whether that’s the case. I don’t know whether anyone in the Chamber has picked up on it.
And thirdly, I just want to raise again the issue of the city deal and the steel innovation centre. I know that this is down the road a little bit, so the timing is not perfect here, and obviously, the plant isn’t within the city deal area, but it is on the doorstep, and it’s a huge facility where the production of new automotive products using new materials, perhaps developed through the science centre—it’s an opportunity that can’t be overlooked. As I say, the timing isn’t fantastic on that, but to lose the expertise of this workforce with that on the horizon would be a serious blow, obviously, for those workers whose families are directly affected—and they’ve been treated very poorly during this process—but also to other families involved in the economy of this part of south Wales, as well. So, even though we’re talking about hybrid cars and so forth, there are other automotive opportunities that new materials can bring. Thank you.
And the Member is absolutely right. The working group is keenly looking at opportunities that the city deal presents and that other investment structures that are part of the UK industrial strategy, for example, are also able to offer. The industry is changing rapidly and investments in future products are determined by investment cycles. New products are likely to be based on emerging technology, primarily based on hybrid engine models and electric engine models, and I’ve impressed upon Ford of Europe, at a level in Cologne, to ensure that Ford Bridgend is given every opportunity to bid for and to secure those new products. The dates will be determined by the investment cycle decisions, i.e. when current engines are being phased out and new engines are being introduced, but I’ve been asked to be kept in full contact with Ford over their investment cycles. But there are other opportunities that could be secured for the Ford site in the form of production of and finishing of engines that are currently finished elsewhere, and this is something that, again, the working group is actively pursuing.
In terms of the composition of the working group, I’ve already outlined that the membership includes the automotive forum, Welsh Government, Ford itself and Unite the Union. It will report back to me on a regular basis and I, in turn, will report back to Assembly Members. If Assembly Members would wish to meet with other members of the working group, I’m sure that a cross-party group may be the most applicable and appropriate forum in which to do so.
Cabinet Secretary, whilst it’s disappointing that Jaguar Land Rover have decided to bring their engine production in-house, there were no guarantees that Ford would have won the contract when it was to be renewed in December 2020. So, we have two and a half years to be positive and to find additional contracts for the Bridgend plant. What we don’t need now is the threat of strike action. We need the unions, Ford and the Welsh and UK Governments working together to find alternative contracts. So, Cabinet Secretary, Ford announced today that they will be investing heavily in the electric vehicles. I know most of this had been answered already, but I place on record what I’m discussing. What discussions have you had regarding the possibility of the Bridgend plant providing the drivetrain for Ford’s future electric and plug-in hybrid fleet? Also, I’d like to be invited to any forthcoming meetings, or at least to know about them, as Suzy Davies as stated. Thank you.
I think it is important that all Members are kept fully abreast of developments in regard to Ford Bridgend, and I do pledge to make sure that regular updates are offered to Members and, as I said to Suzy Davies, a cross-party group may well be the most appropriate time to meet with other Members of the working group and to explore some of the opportunities as they are developed further. You are right that Ford at Bridgend has two and a half years to secure new products to manufacture at the site, and we are doing all that we can to ensure that that happens. Unite the Union, I am pleased to say, have opted for dialogue rather than for formal industrial action, and the leadership of that union are absolutely committed to ensuring that there is a long-term, sustainable future for the site and for its skilled workforce.
Many discussions have already taken place concerning the potential to attract electric drivetrains to the Bridgend plant. Those discussions will continue and, as I’ve said to Suzy Davies and to others, we are determined to take advantage of every opportunity that the new technologies that are emerging fast are able to present.
Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary.