Ford Employees in Brazil Strike After Announcement of Plant Closing

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Reacting to the news of the closing of its truck manufacturing plant in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, workers from the Ford Auto plant decided to strike on Tuesday. Earlier in the day Ford Motor Company Brasil announced it was closing down the plant and leaving the truck manufacturing market in South America.

“We fought, we did everything we could to avoid it, we have to go home and return next week,” said José Quixabeira de Anchieta, general coordinator of the Ford Trade Union Committee.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ford Company released a statement announcing its decision. “The maintenance of the business would have required a significant volume of investments to meet market needs and rising regulatory costs without, however, providing a viable path to a profitable and sustainable business,” read the statement.

According to the Union, 3200 employees will be affected as well as another one thousand contractors who work indirectly with the automaker.

In a note sent to the press, the mayor of São Bernardo do Campo, Orlando Morando (PSDB) said the closing of the plant will affect many families in the city and called the decision as ‘cowardly’.

“They could at least have respected Brazil and our city,” said Morando in a press release.

Ford also confirmed that in Brazil, it will no longer sell the models Cargo, F-4000, F-350 and Fiesta when stocks are finished.

Ford has three plants in Brazil, in Camaçari (BA), São Bernardo do Campo (SP) and Taubaté (SP), and a testing ground in Tatuí (SP). According to news reports only employees of the São Bernardo do Campo plant decided to strike.