Ford accused of jobs 'betrayal'

The car industry has suffered a double blow as Ford faced the threat of industrial action over plans to axe 850 UK jobs and freeze pay, while new car sales slumped by almost a third.

Ford's Transit van plant in Southampton will be hardest hit, with between 400 and 500 jobs set to be lost by May, and a further 350 posts cut across the company through a restructuring of salaried staff.

Ford also announced that it wanted to "re-evaluate" this year's pay deal of 5.2%, saying that its business situation had worsened significantly since it was drawn up last October.

"Such a serious step would not normally be contemplated but in the unprecedented circumstances the priority is to ensure a sustainable Ford Motor Company," said the firm.

Unite condemned the announcement as a "betrayal" and warned it would ballot for industrial action unless the plans were reconsidered.

The row blew up as the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported that 112,087 new cars were registered in January, the lowest January figure since 1974 and a fall of 30.9% compared with a year ago.

The SMMT stepped up its call for the Government to offer financial aid to owners of older cars to help them buy newer models under a so-called scrappage incentive scheme.

Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, said the job losses and pay freeze at Ford were "completely unacceptable", adding: "Ford are asking the workers to take a cut in pay to preserve jobs, but workers are asking themselves if their pay is being cut to pay for friends and colleagues to be thrown on to the dole.

"Ford has today reached a new low in corporate integrity. While their executives pay themselves handsomely and their European profits alone totalled 1.06 billion dollars in 2007/2008, they are using the challenging global circumstances to cut the jobs and pay of the workers who helped make them these massive profits."

"They must respect this pay deal. If they fail to do so, then we will have no other choice but to consult our members on how they wish to take to defend their jobs and pay."