Last week saw the devastating news of the planned closure of the Ford engine plant in Bridgend. A decision that has caused widespread uncertainty for thousands of directly and indirectly employed workers in the local community and beyond. The Green Party has long highlighted the issues with both petrol and diesel engines and has been calling for the necessary transitional support to be supplied to these facilities for many years.
Leader of the Wales Green Party, Anthony Slaughter said, ‘This decision comes as no surprise. Unfortunately, the industry and Government have been slow in recognising the inevitable fate for products that clearly had a limited shelf life if we are serious about tackling the climate crisis.
Urgent action is now needed to minimise the impact of this decision on the community and the workforce that has done all, and more, that it could to keep the plant viable. We strongly hope that it is not too late for the Welsh Government to work with the sector and save the plant by assisting in an adaptation to future cutting-edge technologies.
The Green Party ended our Spring conference, on 9th June, by passing an Emergency Motion expressing our sympathy with the Bridgend workers and community, and calling for a just transition to new technologies, creating opportunities to support our highly skilled workforces go forward and create an industry fit to face the challenges of the 21st century.’