Workers at Ford Genk agree redundancy terms

Workers at Ford’s assembly plant in Genk, Belgium, which is being closed, have accepted the redundancy terms being proposed by the company. More than 4,200, almost the entire workforce, voted, with 71.7% backing the plan.

Although the details have not been officially published, with each employee receiving their own individually calculated figure, the basic structure of the deal has emerged. It involves a payment of €2,000 per year of service for those leaving voluntarily in the next few months, plus an additional payment of €6,800 for those with fewer than 20 years of service and €13,600 for those with more than this. In addition, there is a state payment of €153 a year.

Those aged 52 and over can take early retirement and those who stay until the final close of the car plant in December 2014 will get €2,400 per year of service.

Unusually, the same terms are being offered to employees in subcontractors who supply Ford. Workers in these plants also accepted the deal.

The euro was worth 86p on 15 March.