July 22 (SeeNews) - The Romanian unit of US car maker Ford Motor Company said on Wednesday that it is investing $30 million (25.9 million euro) in a new pressing line at its factory in Craiova, in southern Romania and that it will start Puma ST series production later this year.
The 1,900 sq m pressing line will enable the plant to produce a wider range of components, which, at the moment, are brought from other Ford factories in Europe, Ford Romania said in a press release.
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"Since 2008, when it acquired the factory in Craiova, Ford has respected its commitment towards Romania and especially towards Craiova. I think the constant investments we have made over the last 12 years, including the $30 million announced today, are proof of that," Ford Romania president Ian Pearson said.
Ford also said that later this year it will begin manufacturing Ford Puma ST at the factory in Craiova. Ford Puma ST will be the sporty version of the subcompact crossover Puma.
Ford also announced that starting July 20, its employees returned to three-shifts work schedule, bringing production volume almost at the same level as before the beginning of the pandemic.
At the beginning of the month, Ford Romania said is planning to not extend the contracts of part of its employees after their expiry due to low demand on the automotive market. According to local media, some 213 fixed-term contracts would not be extended.
Ford's factory in Romania was closed since mid-March through April due to the COVID-19 pandemic and employees were sent in technological unemployment.
At the beginning of February, before the first coronavirus cases were registered in Romania, Ford said it expects a record daily volume of production this year at its vehicle assembly plant in Craiova. Over 1,000 Puma and EcoSport compact SUVs will be assembled daily at the plant in southern Romania, meaning that a car will roll out every 67 seconds, Ford Romania said at the time.
Ford said earlier that it has invested over 1.5 billion euro ($1.68 billion) in its Craiova site since 2008.
($ = 0.8666 euro)
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