Fоrd Sollers about downsizing: ''It will affect office workers in Tatarstan to a lesser degree''
The company has launched a ''program of voluntary resignation'' and can downsize a third of ‘’white collars’’ in all Russian plants
Fоrd Sollers is going to reduce a part of office staff in February, including in Tatarstan. The information has been confirmed in Fоrd labour union organisation. The company itself calls the reduction a ''programme of voluntary resignations''. Meanwhile, the employment service of the Republic of Tatarstan state that they have not received any information about the upcoming downsizing.
A third – voluntarily to the streets
As it became known yesterday, Fоrd Sollers company intends to downsize in February, including in Tatarstan. On February 1, Fоrd Sollers announced a program of voluntary resignations of their employees. According to Vedomosti, it will last for two weeks, before February 13.
Office workers in all departments will be asked to leave a post ''voluntarily'': in the Leningrad region (an automobile plant), the Republic of Tatarstan (two plants and an engine plant) and the central office in Moscow. Now the staff of Sollers Fоrd are 4.500 people, every fourth is an office worker. At the end of the program, their number is to be reduced by a third.
Vice President for public relations of Sollers Fоrd Elizaveta Novikova, answering the questions of Realnoe Vremya, confirmed the information, but she said: ''Downsizing will take place not in factories, but in offices. It will affect office workers in Tatarstan to a lesser degree. These plans are more related to Moscow.''
''I became aware of this program last week,'' a representative of the primary labour union organization of the plant Artem Yashenkov said in the interview with Realnoe Vremya. ''I do not know a number of workers to downsize. As far as we know, the downsizing is carried out with the purpose of optimization and economy.''
Will ''office monkeys'' be given ''golden parachutes''?
Fоrd Sollers has officially stated that it is about a ''program of voluntary resignation''. However, they do not specify the conditions of termination. ''We do not disclose this issue and conditions of resignation,'' said Elizaveta Novikova.
Vedomosti newspaper, citing information from a source close to one of the enterprises of the joint venture and one of the Russian dealers of Ford, reported that a departing employee will be granted a one-time payment in the amount of five monthly salaries. Speaking about what kind of compensation voluntarily resignated employees will get, Yashenkov noted that for each unit ''different amounts'' are provided.
It is interesting that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Protection of the Republic of Tatarstan has not received the information about the upcoming downsizing.
The history of Ford Sollers in Tatarstan
The production of Ford vehicles at Ford Sollers factory in Yelabuga started in 2012. According to the company, the number of employees of Ford Sollers in Yelabuga at the time was about 2.000 people.
In July 2012, Ford Sollers announced the extension of its model range produced at the plant in Yelabuga. They started to produce models such as Ford Kuga, Ford S-MAX, Ford Galaxy and Ford Explorer. In April 2013, Ford Sollers plant in Yelabuga started the production of Ford Explorer by the technology of complete cycle. A month later in Yelabuga they started the construction of a Ford Sollers plant for the production of engines.
In December 2014, Dmitry Medvedev, as Prime Minister, opened the modernised plant Ford Sollers in Naberezhnye Chelny, where the production of the new compact crossover Ford EcoSport started, and in 2015 — Fiesta. The number of employees of the second plant Ford Sollers in Tatarstan, in Naberezhnye Chelny, is not specified.
In December 2016, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov launched the production of the new Ford Kuga in Alabuga. Earlier it was reported that Ford was the sixth most popular brand cars in the world in 2016.