Today, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Motors and Ford India Pvt. Ltd. along with the Government of Gujarat signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Gandhinagar regarding the Ford India plant at Sanand.
According to the MoU, Tata Motors Ltd, will acquire all the land, building and vehicle assembly, as well as plant machinery from Ford India Pvt. Ltd. The latter’s employees that work in the Vehicle Assembly Plant will also be included in Tata Motors.
However, Ford India will continue operating its Engine production unit at the plant. Tata Motors will provide Ford with land on lease for this purpose.
This deal comes as Tata Motors looks to kick-off production of electric vehicles at this production plant. This will put Gujarat at the forefront of environment friendly green mobility initiatives.
Interestingly, this MoU was finalized rather quickly in just around three months, with the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The state government has assured that it would help the companies regarding any permission and approvals they might need to streamline their operations. These approvals will be over and above the essential facilities like water, electricity and effluent treatment plant that the manufacturing unit will need.
This MoU will also address the issue of massive unemployment resulted from closure of the Ford Plant. The Ford Motors plant employs 305 direct workers and approximately 30,000 indirect workers. The closure of the plant has caused an estimated 5,000 job losses, which is a matter of concern for the state government. In addition, the ancillary units supplying spare parts to the plant will also be shut down and their employees will also be adversely affected.
A tripartite MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. . Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Industry Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors, and Balasundaram, Ford India’s Transformation Officer and Country Head were also present here.
