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Ford is to shed up to 500 jobs at its Transit van plant in Southampton by May, and a further 350 jobs will be lost at sites throughout the country. 05-Feb-2009 Ford is to invest £70m at its factory in Bridgend, in order to produce the new EcoBoost range of fuel-efficient engines. 29-Oct-2008 Ford is to halve Transit van production at its factory in Southampton to 35,000 units a year, which could lead to the loss of up to 600 jobs by 2011. 17-Sep-2008 Ford is to shed 125 workers on short-term contracts at its Transit vans factory in Southampton in October. 25-Aug-2008 Ford is reported to be considering plans to significantly cut Transit van production at its plant in Southampton, prompting concern about possible job losses from the 1,200-strong workforce. 10-Jul-2008 Ford is to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover car manufacturing operations to Tata of India for £1bn, securing the future of 13,500 jobs at sites including Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood until at least 2011. 26-Mar-2008 Ford is considering plans to sell off its Jaguar and Land Rover car manufacturing operations, including 19,000 staff in Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood. 12-Jun-2007 Ford is to close its automotive parts foundry in Leamington Spa in July, with the loss of 365 jobs. 30-Mar-2007 Ford is to create a further 200 manufacturing jobs at its engine factory in Bridgend. 19-Jan-2007 Ford is planning to auction Aston Martin, the Warwickshire-based luxury car manufacturer with 1,700 staff, and is thought to be seeking more than £1bn. 04-Sep-2006 Ford is to invest up to £1bn in vehicle fuel efficiency research at sites in Coventry, Gaydon and Dunton over the next six years. 17-Jul-2006 Ford is planning to relocate up to 1,300 staff from its 200,000 sq ft Trafford House headquarters in Basildon to nearby Dunton or Warley, in order to sell off the site for redevelopment. 26-Apr-2006 Ford has announced plans to invest £8m at its Halewood transmissions factory, in order to double production of the MT82 gearbox. 20-Dec-2005 Ford is to invest £85m at its factory in Dagenham, in order to produce a new diesel engine for commercial vehicles. 06-Oct-2005 Ford has secured a £4.5m government grant to go towards a £169m expansion project at its diesel engine plant in Dagenham, which will create 460 jobs. 17-Dec-2004 Ford has sold its Cosworth motorsport technology engineering operations to the owners of the Champ Car World Series for undisclosed terms, while its Jaguar Racing business has been acquired by Red Bull. 16-Nov-2004 Ford is to invest £115m in a new production line at its Halewood gearbox factory on Merseyside, securing the future of 700 jobs. 19-Oct-2004 Ford is to withdraw from Formula One motor racing by putting its Jaguar Racing and Cosworth subsidiaries up for sale, casting doubt on the future of 800 jobs. 20-Sep-2004 Jaguar is to stop producing cars at the Browns Lane factory in Coventry, which will involve 400 voluntary redundancies, the transfer of 425 jobs to Castle Bromwich and 300 new jobs at Ford's Aston Martin site in Warwickshire. 20-Sep-2004 Ford has announced plans to create 600 jobs at its car engine plant in Bridgend over the next three years, following a £293m investment programme. 06-May-2004 Ford is to close its prototype vehicles factory at Aveley in Essex later this year, with the loss of 150 of the 550 jobs. 28-Jan-2004 Ford is to close its Ingeni global design centre in London, with the relocation of 30 jobs to other sites. 26-Nov-2003 Ford has shed more than 200 contract jobs at its technical research plant near Basildon. 06-Nov-2003 Warwick Manufacturing Group is linking up with Ford to set up a £70m automotive research centre near Coventry, in order to improve the performance of suppliers to Ford's Premier Automotive Group. 02-Apr-2003 Ford has sold its Hertz Lease car fleet management business to Societe Generale of France for undisclosed terms. 02-Dec-2002 Ford is to invest a further £41m at its engine plant in Bridgend, with the creation of about 600 jobs, in order to transfer production of a Volvo engine from Sweden. 25-Nov-2002 Ford has submitted plans for the £5m development of three 1.8MW wind turbines to power production at its diesel engine manufacturing plant in Dagenham. 25-Sep-2002 Ford is to shed up to 1,000 jobs at its Jaguar and Land Rover operations, which will affect sites in Merseyside, Birmingham and Coventry. 20-Sep-2002 Ford has sold its Kwik-Fit chain of 2,500 car repair centres to CVC Capital Partners for £330m. 13-Aug-2002 Ford is considering plans to spin off control of its Land Rover logistics department to an independent contractor, which could involve the transfer of up to 770 jobs. 30-May-2002 Ford's Jaguar division has announced plans to build a £10m railhead at its Castle Bromwich site in Birmingham, in order to transport body panels from Halewood. 26-Apr-2002 Ford has announced plans to invest £10m at its Leamington foundry, including the installation of a new moulding line and renewal of foundry equipment. 06-Mar-2002 Ford has announced plans to relocate production of Aston Martin cars from Newport Pagnell and Bloxham to a new plant at its Gaydon headquarters by 2008, which will involve the transfer of 600 workers. 25-Feb-2002 Ford has put its Kwik-Fit chain of car repair centres up for sale, which employ 11,500 staff at 2,400 service centres. 16-Jan-2002 Ford is planning to double the dealer network for its Aston Martin cars to 200 over the next two years. 17-Dec-2001 Ford has announced plans to invest £2.5bn in its Land Rover subsidiary over the next five years, including the development of a new Discovery model that will be produced in Solihull from 2004. 11-Dec-2001 Ford is to consider the future of its Kwik-Fit chain of car repair outlets, which could lead to a sale or joint venture. 10-Dec-2001 Ford is planning to bring its Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar brands under the control of a joint strategy board, in order to improve co-operation in purchasing, logistics and finance. 23-Nov-2001 Ford is said to be considering plans to invest more than £100m at its Castle Bromwich plant to produce the new Jaguar F-type sports car, securing the future of many of the site's 2,000 jobs. 14-Nov-2001 Ford is planning to form a partnership with the Warwick Manufacturing Group at Warwick University to collaborate in training and research for its luxury car brands. 05-Nov-2001 Pendragon is to acquire Ford's 49% stake in their Stripestar joint venture of 28 car dealerships, in a deal worth £5.5m. 18-Oct-2001 Ford is planning to invest more than £3bn in the expansion of its Jaguar range, which will involve an overhaul of its UK plants and the introduction of aluminium-body assembly over the next three years. 10-Sep-2001 Ford's Jaguar division is planning up to 200 redundancies at Halewood next month, when production of the Escort van ceases. 03-Sep-2001 Ford has announced plans to invest up to $2bn in the development of five new Land Rover models, as part of a strategy to increase its share of the North American market over the next six years. 21-Aug-2001 Ford is to create 150 new jobs at its Land Rover subsidiary in Solihull, in order to increase production of the Freelander model. 19-Jul-2001 Ford has outlined plans for a £355m five-year investment programme at Dagenham, which will create 500 jobs and transform the site into a global centre for diesel engineering. 16-Jul-2001 Ford's Land Rover division is planning to set up a £0.5m off-road demonstration centre next to the Bluewater shopping centre in Dartford, the first of a network of sites around the country. 13-Jul-2001 Ford has awarded a £10m contract to Vanbots of Canada to build a Jaguar engine plant at its site in Bridgend. 28-Jun-2001 Ford is linking up with other leading European carmakers - including Fiat, BMW, DaimlerChrysler and Renault - to prepare for the launch of a rival motor racing championship to Formula One by 2008. 05-Apr-2001 Ford is seeking 15 London businesses to run a fleet of electric Think cars in a pilot scheme this summer. 21-Mar-2001 Ford is seeking 90 voluntary redundancies among the 950 staff at its Halewood transmission plant, in order to improve efficiency. 02-Mar-2001 Vodafone has announced a deal to provide in-car telematics to Ford in Europe, which will give drivers access to emergency services, traffic information and route details. 26-Feb-2001 Ford is to shed 200 jobs and reduce output at its Land Rover factory in Solihull, due to a shortage of diesel engines supplied by BMW. 09-Feb-2001 Ford is planning to invest £236m at its Bridgend plant to produce engines for Jaguar and its other premium brands, with the creation of 600 jobs. 05-Feb-2001 Ford is planning to step up its European restructuring programme by cutting the size of its 50,000-strong manufacturing workforce by up to 10% a year and by reducing transportation costs. 18-Dec-2000 Ford is planning to form a joint venture with the Defence Evaluation & Research Agency to develop hologram technology for vehicle design and medical imaging. 29-Nov-2000 Ford is considering plans to invest up to £200m at its Bridgend plant to produce petrol engines for Jaguar cars, which would involve the transfer of work from Cleveland, Ohio. 23-Nov-2000 Ford has announced plans to retrain all 2,000 Land Rover production workers at its plants in the UK, Germany and Spain, in order to improve quality and reduce costs. 20-Oct-2000 Ford has announced plans to build a new diesel engine plant at Dagenham, as part of the previously announced £340m overhaul of the site. 13-Oct-2000 Ford is planning to invest £130m at its Land Rover factory in Solihull over the next year, in order to boost sales and productivity. 20-Sep-2000 BP and Ford are discussing plans for an alliance to collaborate in the development of new fuel technologies, traffic management systems and environmental policy. 29-Aug-2000 Ford is planning to build a new car production plant and development centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire, in order to more than double the output of its Aston Martin subsidiary to 2,500 cars a year. 10-Aug-2000 Ford has submitted a planning application to South Northants Council for the construction of a factory for its Jaguar Racing and Cosworth Racing operations at the Silverstone Technology Park, although other sites are still being considered. 04-Aug-2000 Ford has started reorganising its Southampton factory to prepare for the assembly of a new Transit van. 27-Jul-2000 Ford is opening a £1.5m research facility at Oxford University's Begbroke science park to develop new metal-moulding technology for the creation of tools for stamping out body panels. 19-Jun-2000 Pilkington is planning to acquire an 80% stake in Visteon, Ford's glass division, in order to double its share of the North American automotive glass market to about 40%. 06-Jun-2000 Ford has completed the £1.85bn acquisition of Land Rover from BMW, and is expected to invest heavily in the assembly facilities and dealer network. 25-May-2000 Ford is to create 360 new jobs in the UK by making it the centre of its Commercial Vehicle Engineering operations, which will help to offset job losses caused by the end of vehicle production at Dagenham. 23-May-2000 Ford is considering plans to base its new design studio at Broadwick House in London's Soho. 22-May-2000 Ford is planning to restructure its Dagenham car plant by ending volume car production with the loss of 3,000 jobs, and the site will be developed into a global hub for diesel engine production at a cost of £400m. 12-May-2000 Ford is to announce a major European restructuring in May that is expected to confirm that car assembly will end at Dagenham in November 2001, putting more than 3,000 jobs at risk. 25-Apr-2000 Ford has agreed to acquire Land Rover from BMW for £1.85bn, and is expected to integrate the dealership, finance and marketing functions with those of its other premium car brands. 20-Mar-2000 Ford is to cut 1,500 jobs at its Dagenham plant due to a fall in sales, and the future of the site is being reviewed. 18-Feb-2000 Ford is planning to restructure its European arm in order to cut costs, which is expected to involve plant closures and a review of supplier and distribution activities. 03-Feb-2000 Ford is to build a £20m design centre in London, and the exact location will be revealed in a few months time. 12-Jan-2000 Ford is to invest £18m at its Bridgend plant in order to produce Zetec SE four-cylinder engines, and £150m of equipment will be transferred to the plant from other European sites. 13-Nov-1999 Ford is seeking 290 volunteers for redundancy, including 86 at its Halewood transmission plant, as part of an ongoing drive to improve competitiveness. 04-Nov-1999 Ford has opened a new £80m environmental testing centre at Dunton, which can subject cars to a wide range of weather conditions. 28-Sep-1999 Ford is looking to relocate its Cosworth Racing motorsport business from its Northampton base to larger premises on the outskirts of the town. 18-Sep-1999 Ford has acquired a 49% stake in the Pendragon Ford dealership for £20m, and the two companies aim to cut costs in areas such as parts ordering, inventory management and warranty claims. 14-Sep-1999 Ford has announced plans to produce alternative fuel vehicles in Europe, starting with bi-fuel engines for the Transit vans manufactured in Southampton. 06-Sep-1999 Ford is preparing to switch production at its Halewood plant from the Escort to the new Jaguar model, which will involve short-time working as the employees are trained in Jaguar's working practices. 03-Sep-1999 Ford has relocated its European headquarters from Dagenham to Cologne, prompting speculation about the company's commitment to the UK. 23-Aug-1999 Ford is to extend short-time working at its Dagenham plant until September, due to slow European demand for the Fiesta. 16-Jul-1999 Ford is to acquire the Stewart Grand Prix Formula One team for undisclosed terms, as part of a strategy to become a leader in all major motor sports. 11-Jun-1999 Ford is said to be asking for government funding to secure the future of its engine plant in Bridgend, South Wales. 28-May-1999 Ford has confirmed plans for a £468m project to prepare its Dagenham plant for a new generation of cars, and it will link up with local authorities and other companies to provide training and leisure facilities and a 90-acre supplier park. 26-May-1999 Ford has announced plans to spend £500m revamping its Dagenham plant over the next three years, including a new assembly line and a supplier park to house component manufacturers. 06-May-1999 Ford and English Partnerships are planning a £220m project to redevelop land around the Ford plant in Dagenham, including an educational campus and visitor centre. 29-Apr-1999 Ford has announced plans to increase the capacity at its Dagenham plant by two-thirds in order to manufacture a new small car, following an agreement with unions to transform work practices. 22-Apr-1999 Ford is to acquire Kwik-Fit, the tyres and exhausts repair company, for £1bn, as part of a strategy to become a global leader in the automotive services sector. 13-Apr-1999 Ford is seeking a further 680 voluntary redundancies, which will affect plants in Dagenham, Halewood, Southampton and Swansea. 02-Apr-1999 Ford has won a £110m contract to supply vans from its Eastleigh plant to British Telecom. 24-Mar-1999 Ford has announced the formation of the Premier Automotive Group, which will enable Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lincoln, and Volvo to pool ideas in the luxury car market. 19-Mar-1999 Ford is to acquire Volvo's car division for $6.5bn, while the remaining Volvo truck business has announced plans to close its plant in Irvine with the loss of 250 jobs. 29-Jan-1999 Ford has announced a three-week shutdown at its Dagenham plant and an extension of short-time working due to a fall in exports. 26-Jan-1999 Ford and Jardine Motors have confirmed the £28m acquisition of Dagenham Motors, through their Polar Motors joint venture. 20-Jan-1999 Ford is to extend production cuts at its Dagenham plant until March, due to a fall in demand for Fiesta cars and vans in export markets. 12-Jan-1999 Ford and Jardine Motors are set to acquire Dagenham Motors for £30m, giving Ford control over its largest UK dealership. 22-Dec-1998 Ford is giving its Dagenham plant two years to catch up with the productivity levels achieved at its other European operations, prompting speculation that more jobs will be lost. 03-Nov-1998 Ford is to cancel five shifts at its Dagenham plant in November and December in order to take 3,000 Fiestas out of production, due to falling demand in continental Europe. 23-Oct-1998 Ford Motor is discussing the formation of a motor retailing joint venture with Jardine Motors in order to gain greater control over its distribution network, and they may launch a bid for Dagenham Motors. 01-Oct-1998 Ford is to put its 5,000 Dagenham workers on a four-day week over the next few months in order to help shift its stockpile of Fiestas. 21-Sep-1998 Ford's Bridgend plant has lost out in a bid to build the engine for the new mini-Jaguar, which will instead be built in Cleveland, Ohio, and the future of the plant may be in doubt unless it can secure the successor to the Zetec engine. 01-Sep-1998 Ford has warned the management and workforce at its Halewood factory that they must improve working practices within the next month in order to demonstrate that they can produce the new Jaguar. 27-Aug-1998 Ford is to link up with Norwich Union to turn its showrooms into one-stop shops for purchasing vehicles, tax and insurance. 15-Aug-1998 Volkswagen has agreed the £117m purchase of Cosworth, the high performance engine maker, from Vickers, and is to sell the motor sport division on to Ford for £50m. 13-Jul-1998 Ford has suffered severe disruption to its Fiesta production line at Dagenham, following the failure of an unnamed supplier to deliver door latches on time. 13-Jun-1998 Vickers has been in discussions with Ford about the possibility of forming a strategic partnership for its Cosworth specialist engines business, which is seen as a way of preventing a possible bid from Volkswagen. 04-May-1998 Ford has announced that Halewood will be used to produce the new Jaguar X400 small car, which will safeguard 1,800 jobs on Merseyside and create up to 400 engineering jobs in Coventry. 07-Jan-1998 Ford is to build a £1.5m solar power generator to provide all the lighting at its engine plant in Bridgend. 05-Dec-1997 Ford has reached agreement with unions that could pave the way for the new Jaguar X400 to be built at its Halewood plant, but a decision is not expected until next year. 14-Nov-1997 Ford is planning to invest £66m in emissions testing facilities at its Dunton engineering centre in Essex. 14-Oct-1997 Ford's assembly plant in Dagenham has been hit by an unofficial strike because of a dispute over the latest pay offer. 04-Oct-1997 Siemens has bought out Ford's 49% share of their Siemens Automotive Systems joint venture in the UK, which makes plastic composite engine parts, for undisclosed terms. 08-Aug-1997 Ford is changing its relationship with dealers by stopping sales incentives programmes and encouraging them to improve their long-term viability with customer loyalty campaigns. 18-Apr-1997 Iveco Ford Truck has confirmed that it is to end truck production at its Langley plant, with the loss of 450 jobs. 01-Mar-1997 Ford is to invest £25m at its Swansea plant to manufacture wheel hubs, drums, and brake discs for the next-generation Escort. 25-Feb-1997 Ford is to expand output of the luxury Aston Martin V8 and Vantage models by 25%. 15-Feb-1997 Ford has announced that its Halewood factory will not build the next Escort model, so it is seeking up to 1,300 voluntary redundancies. 17-Jan-1997 Ford had the UK's three bestselling cars in 1996 - the Fiesta, Escort and Mondeo - but its total market share has fallen from 30% in the 1980s to about 20%. 16-Jan-1997 Ford Motor is devising plans to stem huge losses in Europe, and it may decide to cut capacity by closing a plant. 08-Jan-1997 Ford is planning a £34m expansion of its Belfast motor components plant to produce plastic components for both European and North American vehicles, a move which will create 55 jobs. 05-Oct-1996 Ford is to cut 1,000 of its 30,000 UK workforce by the end of the year through early retirement and voluntary redundancy, as part of a worldwide effort to improve efficiency. 26-Sep-1996 Ford is to reduce output of Fiesta cars and vans at Dagenham by 8,500 per week after August, due to slowing demand from southern Europe. 28-Jun-1996 Iveco-Ford has forecast a stagnation in the UK truck market, with sales at about 52,000 this year, which will prompt a potentially-damaging price war. 11-Apr-1996 Lucas Industries is to supply new car diesel fuel injection pumps to Ford, Renault and Fiat in a £650m 5-year deal. 26-Mar-1996 Suter has decided against closing Clearplas, the plastic auto components concern, following the promise of financial help from its major customers, Rover and Ford. 12-Mar-1996 Ford is planning to invest £2.6bn at its UK plants up to the year 2000 in order to build replacements for the Fiesta and Escort, a move that reflects increased confidence in the flexibility of the UK workforce. 08-Mar-1996 Ford is recalling about 200,000 Fiestas built between March 1989 and September 1990 due to possible problems with the seat belts. 02-Mar-1996 Ford UK workers have voted to accept a two-year pay deal, averting the possibility of strikes. 20-Feb-1996 Ford's US chairman has said that he expects European operations to be profitable this year following recent losses. 04-Jan-1996 Bundy has won a £85m contract to supply fuel, brake and transmission line systems for three new Ford models. 08-Dec-1995 Frank G Gates has sold two of its Ford dealerships to Hancock Southern. 16-Nov-1995 Ford has confirmed that 480 jobs will be created with its £340m investment in engine manufacture at Bridgend. 18-Oct-1995 Ford is to invest £300m at its Bridgend plant to build a new generation of engines, creating a significant number of new jobs. 14-Oct-1995 Ford is putting its Halewood site on the a 3 day week for the rest of September, due to falling demand. 11-Sep-1995
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