It has been a month since automobile major Ford announced the ceasing of operations in India, but there is no clarity yet on the future of the two plants owned by the US company in Maraimalai Nagar and Sanand and their around 4,000 employees.
However, there is intense speculation about home-grown Tata Motors touching base with Ford India for buying the Maraimalai Nagar and Sanand plants. The speculation gained further credence after Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin separately in two weeks.
Though Tata Sons and the state government maintain that the meetings were “courtesy calls”, a source in the know told DH that a state government delegation met the top management of Tata Motors in Mumbai for discussions on the group possibly taking over the facilities owned by Ford.
“The discussions with the Tata management took place before its chairman met the Chief Minister. The delegation returned with an impression that Tata Motors was not very keen on taking over Ford’s plants in Chennai and Sanand. However, the talks are still on, and the final word has not yet been pronounced,” the source said.
The source added that the government has “very limited say” since it was only playing the role of an interlocutor in the interests of the employees and the state. “The deal will have to be negotiated and settled by the two companies. We will facilitate the company that agrees to talk over the plant. We will then discuss with the buyer on what we can offer them,” a senior government official told DHon the condition of anonymity.
In response to a query sent by DH, a spokesperson for Ford India said: “We continue to explore possible alternatives for our manufacturing facilities but have nothing further to comment related to the ongoing speculations.”
Industry trackers said Tata Motors may expect the Tamil Nadu government to give them a “special package” for not just taking over the Ford plant but for its future expansion plans.
Meanwhile, the talks between Ford India management and the employees' union have also not progressed beyond a point. “The talks are continuing but we have not reached any agreement on the settlement for employees. We are still pushing the management to give us an agreement that our jobs will be saved if any company takes over the plant,” an office-bearer of the Chennai Ford Employees Union told DH.
Ford said it continues to work with the “unions and other stakeholders on measures to help balance the impact and to care for those directly affected by the restructuring.”
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