Ford Motor Company had in September last year declared that it was closing its factories in India, impacting a total of 4,000 employees. While the Sanand manufacturing unit in Gujarat has been taken over by Tata Motors, uncertainty still looms over the future of Ford’s Maraimalai Nagar unit in Tamil Nadu.
The workers have been protesting seeking a better severance package. However, it has now emerged that the US-based company has set the deadline for Monday evening for the workers to accept a ‘non-negotiable’ severance package being offered.
Further, Ford has also highlighted the possibility of legal action against workers from June 14 while warning of an early closure of the unit, even before it is done with the completion of remaining export volume production.
What does the package say?
Under the new package, which has a deadline of Monday, the workers were given 115 days of gross wages for each completed year of service. According to Ford, the severance package will be significantly higher than the statutory severance package or 15 days of wages for each completed year of service.
It also includes an ex-gratia amount equivalent to 87 days of last drawn gross wages (May 2022) and a fixed amount Rs 50,000, both being for every completed year of service. Additionally, the workers are being offered benefits equivalent to a lumpsum amount of Rs 2,40,000 and continuation of current medical insurance until March 2024. As per the notice, the cumulative amounts for components set out will be subject to a minimum amount of Rs 30 lakh and a maximum cap of Rs 80 Lakh.
However, the protesting workers aren’t ready to accept the package as it was offered without the Union’s consent, a union leader told Business Standard. Nearly 2,000 workers at Ford’s Tamil Nadu unit have been protesting for a fortnight now demanding a better package from the carmaker.
Through a notice to the employees, the company informed that the package will be applicable to only those who resume production on June 14 and support the company in completing the production schedule. Employees who are ready to opt for the package are needed to inform about their acceptance to the management by 5 pm on Monday, June 13.
“The above package is not negotiable, and the terms of this notice shall not be construed as forming part of any service conditions. If employees do not opt for the severance package, the company will be forced to take legal steps/proceedings,” the notice added.
Ford announces exit
In September 2021, the carmaker had announced that it was shutting its factories in India. Ford Motor Company announced its decision to leave India owing to a range of factors like wrong-reading of the market/product design/positioning and huge investment in a second plant when the first plant capacity itself was not fully utilised, according to experts.
