Rehlinger wants a "future pact" for Saarlouis
Created: 06/23/2022, 15:14
Saarland's Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger (SPD) is standing in the Ford Saarlouis parking lot.
© Oliver Dietze/dpa
After the US car manufacturer Ford said no to the Saarlouis production site, Saarland Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger (SPD) wants to launch a “pact for the future” for the industrial location.
"Especially now!" She said on Thursday at a special session of the Saarland state parliament.
Because of the decision by Ford management on Wednesday not to build future electric cars in Saarlouis, but in Valencia, Spain, 4,600 Ford jobs and 2,000 jobs at suppliers are at risk in Saarland.
Saarbrücken - Rehlinger announced negotiations with Ford over areas that previously belonged to the company.
New, future-proof jobs should be able to be created there “immediately”.
She also expects "active support from Berlin and Brussels" as help for structural change in Saarland.
Ford still guarantees the jobs until 2025, but will remain "responsible for the employees who have worked for decades for the success of this location".
She expects Ford to develop “own ideas and suggestions” for jobs in Saarlouis beyond 2025.
"The ideas that I know of are far too poor, far too vague, far too imprecise and affect far too few employees," she said.
"If Saarland had tears, our country would have cried yesterday," said Rehlinger.
She repeated that the Saarland offer was better than the Spanish one.
"We are angry because we have done everything and have to realize that the competition was never fair and we could not win at all." She emphasized: "The Saarlouis location has a future - with and without Ford." dpa
