Only 37% of Ford Motors workforce at Sanand plant agrees to join the Tatas

On Tuesday, a group of unhappy Ford workers met officials from the labour and employment department of the Gujarat government at Gandhinagar and sought help.

“Their main grouse is that they have not been offered a severance package on the lines of what was given to Ford workers in Chennai. This package is being sought largely by those workers who do not want to join Tata Motors. Secondly, they have objected to a clause whereby if they receive the welcome letter from Tata, they will cease to be employees of Ford. They wanted the government to call the all the stakeholders for discussion,” said one of the government officials who was present at the meeting.

“Among those who did not join, are those who are part of our union and also those holding diplomas and degrees and have made an external union. We are asked to sign and accept welcome letter from Tatas and give up our demands from Ford. This is not acceptable,” said Vijay Bapodara, who heads the Karnavati Kamdar Ekta Sangh, a union of workers at Ford Motors.

Among the major demands of the former Ford workforce at Sanand is a severance package to workers not wanting to join the Tatas. “We do not have an issue in joining the Tatas. But while some of our colleagues were given an option not to join Tatas and given an severance package, we have not been given similar offer,” said Anilsinh Zala, vice-president of the union.

Even those wanting to join Tata Motors are also demanding a compensation from Ford Motors for causing mental trauma, sources added. However, the fate of Ford employees who did not accept job offers from TPEML is not clear yet.

In response to an email about the number of Ford Workers who joined the workforce Tuesday, Tata Motors stated, “Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited (TPEML), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, is formally taking over the Ford India Private Limited’s (FIPL) Vehicle Assembly plant (VA plant) at Sanand, effective Tuesday, 10th January 2023. We are delighted to add this manufacturing capacity to our operations to accelerate the growth momentum of Tata Motors’ ‘New Forever’ range of cars and SUVs and our expanding range of electric vehicles.”

“We are equally pleased to offer employment to 100% of the FIPL VA plant employees, with benefits of the same salary, continuity of service and other terms and conditions similar to those that are currently being availed by them. We warmly welcome all employees who accepted our offer and preferred to join the Tata Motors family, and look forward to on-boarding, assimilating, and training them on future-ready technologies. We also respect the decision of some of the employees who have opted to not join us and wish them the best for their future endeavours,” it added.

According to Gujarat government officials, if Tata Motors refuses to provide more time to Ford employees to join, their cases are expected to be referred to the industrial tribunal.

In August 2022, the TPEML had signed an agreement with Ford India Private Limited for acquiring the car manufacturing plant at Sanand for Rs 725.7 crore.