March 26, 2008 Tata Pleases, Ford
'Disappoints'
British Workers' Union By Dipankar
De Sarkar
London
The head of Britain's largest workers union Wednesday reiterated his
support for Tata's acquisition of the luxury car brands Jaguar and
Land Rover, but said he was disappointed by seller Ford's failure to
retain a stake.
"If Jaguar and Land Rover had to be sold, then Tata was the best
option," said Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, as
Ford announced the sale of the two British iconic cars to Tata
Motors Ltd.
The deal, announced Wednesday, already has the union's seal of
approval, after it secured Tata's assurance that it will not shed
jobs at the three Jaguar and Land Rover factories at Solihull,
Castle Bromwich and Halewood and would continue to source Ford-made
engine and components from its factories in Bridgend and Dagenham.
"We would have much preferred Ford to keep the companies in the
family, so to speak, especially with Land Rover being so
profitable," Woodley said.
"But with the commitments Tata have given to the future of
Jaguar-Land Rover and the long-term supply agreements for
components, especially engines from Bridgend and Dagenham, we're
obviously pleased they are in the game."
However, Woodley added that there was disappointment that Ford had
decided against taking a stake in the new future.
"That is a big disappointment," he said.
According to sources in Unite, union officials would have liked to
see Ford take a minority stake, as it did while selling off the
luxury car Aston Martin to two Kuwaiti investment companies last
year. Ford retained a $77 million stake in Aston Martin.
This, the union officials feel, would have helped to "lock in"
long-term commitments made as part of the agreement signed Wednesday
between Tata and Ford.
The nervousness may be explained by the fact up to 40,000 jobs were
at stake at a time of a global economic slowdown.
"On the positive side, Tata has not only given us a long-term
commitment, but they are an industrial company as well," Unite's
Andrew Dodgson told IANS.
"Tata recognise the iconic brand value of Jaguar-Land Rover - that
they are British-engineered and British-made cars and so it is
important to keep them in Britain," he added.
Ford acquired Jaguar for $2.5 bn in 1989 and Land Rover for $2.75 bn
in 2000 but put them on the market last year after posting losses of
$12.6 bn in 2006 - the heaviest in its 103-year history.
Tata was named by Ford as the preferred bidders in January as it
beat off competition from fellow-Indian carmaker Mahindra and
Mahindra and American buy-up specialist One Equity.
While the three Jaguar and Land Rover factories in Britain employ
some 16,000 people, the number swells to between 30,000 and 40,000
when ancillaries are taken into account, according to Dodgson.
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