Ford will recruit a further 250 employees to its Dagenham engine plant as part of a £380 million project, which is joint-funded by government’s Regional Growth Fund.
The new recruits will join the production line of Ford’s next-generation 2.0-litre diesel engine, which will start production in 2015. The engine was developed at Dagenham and Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Essex.
There are currently around 2,000 people working at the Dagenham plant; Ford’s latest recruitment drive will help the manufacturer produce 350,000 of the new engines a year, yielding a total production output for the plant of around 800,000 engines.
Ford also produces petrol engines at its facility in Bridgend, which brought the manufacturer’s total output in 2013 to more than 1.5 million engines.
Mark Ovenden, Ford of Britain Chairman and Managing Director, said, “This recruitment programme underlines Ford’s commitment to the UK and signals the final step towards the production of an all-new, state-of-the-art, low carbon diesel engine that has been designed, developed and manufactured by Ford in the UK.”
Development of the new engine has been part-funded by the Regional Growth Fund, a £3.2 billion initiative, which supports projects and programmes committed to delivering sustainable jobs.
Greg Clark, Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, said, “The Regional Growth Fund is playing a pivotal role in supporting businesses such as Ford to grow and create long-term, highly skilled jobs. Round six of the Regional Growth Fund is open for bids until 30 September – I urge businesses to consider how it could help them increase their workforce.”
Applications for the new jobs at Ford Dagenham can be made online.
