American auto MNC Ford ceased its 25-year vehicle manufacturing operations in India, after announcing its plan to restructure its business on Thursday.
However, the marquee brand plans to significantly expand its Chennai-based Ford Business Solutions (FBS) team and bring to market some of Ford’s iconic global vehicles and electrified SUVs. It will also ramp up its R&D headcount by 5,000 within next year.
N Muruganandam, Principal Secretary, Industries, TN, when contacted by DTNext, said Ford has already made an investment of Rs 1,300 crore into its global tech and R&D centre in Sholinganallur, where it employs 12,000 skilled engineers. This will be scaled up by another 5,000 people by 2022. Approximately 4,000 employees are expected to be affected by the restructuring. Ford will work closely with employees, unions, suppliers, dealers, government, and other stakeholders in Chennai and Sanand to develop a fair and balanced plan to mitigate the effects of the decision, a release said.
