Workers leave the Ford Bridgend Engine plant in south Wales on June 6, 2019, following confirmation that the plant is to close next year.The growing uncertainty over Brexit has hammered the British car industry, which has seen production fall by 22 per cent this year and two major car plants shut down in a matter of months.
The news hit many workers like Len Jones hard. “When we found out, everyone was just silent,” he told the Press Association. “They gave us letters and we just all went home. It’s hard to take in really, even though we expected it. Now it’s official, it’s a bad thing, really.”It’s the second big car plant closing announced this year. In February, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. said it was shutting its plant in Swindon, England, affecting 3,500 jobs. Earlier this year, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
Much of the slowdown has been due to the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s departure from the European Union. The U.K. was supposed to leave the bloc on March 29, but that deadline was recently extended to Oct. 31 because the government couldn’t finalize a withdrawal agreement with the EU. Several car plants temporarily shut down in March to prepare for Brexit, and it’s still not clear if a deal will be reached or if Britain will crash out of the EU in October.
Ford officials have been highly critical of the Brexit turmoil, and the company has estimated that a no-deal Brexit would cost the car maker up to US$1-billion. That’s because most of Ford’s production in the U.K. is exported across Europe, and those exports could face stiff tariffs from the EU if Britain leaves without an agreement.GEOFF CADDICK/AFP/Getty Images
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