There was some good news for the vehicle company as Ford began its process of converting nearly 3,000 temporary employees to full-time as it heavily invests in Midwestern plants. However, with this good news also came bad. Production at an Indian facility has been halted since May 30 due to more than 2,000 workers striking as they demand better pay.

"We have been on strike since Monday and there has been no production at the unit since then. We have asked for a better compensation package which the management is not willing to accept.

This time, we have decided to go ahead with the strike as the severance package will take at least 15 days to settle. And June 30 is expected to be the last working day, we have resorted to the strike in advance."

An official of the workers union said.

The union official claims that some employees are striking from inside a facility at Maraimalai Nagar while others protest outside.

"Given the ongoing nature of the discussions with the union, we may not be able to share details at this point and will have more to share later."

A Ford spokesperson told media outlets.

The protest has been staged as workers seek better pay after Ford announced in September 2021 that it would stop production at two plants (Sanand in Gujarat and Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai in Tamil Nadu).

"Since there is a doubt whether all their demands will be fully accepted, we have joined the strike.

They (management) want the settlement package to be much lower, which is contrary to our demand. But due to the strike, we hope they may change their stand."

An employee said.

The Tamil Nadu government was under the impression that the Ford plant in Chennai would be taken over by another automaker, but no reports have since come out to confirm this. The future of workers is at maximum uncertainty…