Brazil Ford Workers Strike Over Possible Plant Closure

BRASILIA: About 1,600 workers at the Brazilian Ford truck plant went on strike July 22 to protest the threatened closure of the plant located in Ipiranga in the city of So Paulo, O Globo newswire reported. Metal workers union leaders are worried about the elimination of jobs and want Ford to officially announce whether the plant will be closed. Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported that Ford would close down its truck plant. Union leaders had expected the unit to be transferred to the Ford factory in the city of So Bernardo do Campo, in the outskirts of So Paulo. The information about the plant closure comes two days after the government announced that it would allow tax incentives for Ford to built a factory in the northeastern state of Bahia, some 2,000 km away from the industrial hub of So Paulo.