(We call it) by the name Supervan, the transit van was one of the greatest stalwarts of the industry, the self-starred backbone of a working economy. With the European economy on its knees, even the mighty Ford has struggled to stand up right, in the end something has to give. Its South Hampton part, the home of the transit will be closed.
貨車,也被大篷車,曾是汽車工業最為中堅的力量之一,一個重要經濟產業的支柱。由于歐洲經濟低迷不振,福特巨人也不得不掙扎著求得生存,最后還是得有所放棄,即將關閉福特英格蘭南安普頓貨車工廠。
I wanted to carry on for a few more years, I mean, here is the news, for the young people it's bad news.我曾想再堅持幾年,但是現在的事實是關閉工廠,對年輕人來說,這是個壞消息。
What must be very frustrating for the people who work here is that the problem with sales or a lack of sales lies not in the UK but in Continental Europe. And it's not a reflection of Ford's product, which is still held in quite high regard, it is just a fact that in the current age, people cannot afford to buy a new car or a new van. It is supposed the financial equivalent of "It's not you. It's me."
這里工作的人一定非常沮喪。但是銷售存在問題或者說滯銷,這一問題不僅存在于英國,而且存在于整個歐洲大路。這并不是說福特產品不好,實際上福特產品仍然在公眾心目保有很高的認可地位。只是目前的這個歷史階段,人們買不起新轎車或新貨車。等同于金融上的,“錯不在你,在我”。
The official announcement in respect of the UK and wide businesses will be made on Thursday. But the Belgian factory in Genk found out its fate first. It too will close down.
福特將于周四做出關于英國及其他業務的官方申明。但是比利時亨克工廠已經第一個知道自己將被關閉的命運了。
I hope the people who are responsible for all this will sleep well tonight. So many families will end up on the street.
我希望負責此事的人今晚能夠睡個好覺,畢竟有那么多家庭將露宿街頭。
Ford's plant in Belgium employs 4,300 people. But unions warn the job losses will be closer to 10,000. In the UK, Ford employs around 15,000 workers overall plus thousands more in the supply chain. It's been predicted that losses in Europe will climb to more than 1 billion dollars later this year.
福特在比利時的工廠的員工近4300人。不過工會的預告是失業的人數將接近1萬人。福特在英國的員工總數大約在1.5萬人,還要再加上1千多人在供應環節的員工。根據預測,今年下半年歐洲的損失額將攀升至超過10億美元。
Speaking at Sky News last month, even the company's chief executive couldn't put a gloss on the reality.公司董事長上個月在天空新聞臺的講話也沒有粉飾殘酷的現實。
We're clearly in the downturn when it comes to the economy. So you've watched us continually reduce our production and the resources to go with that to match the, our production to the real demands.
我們的經濟確實處于低谷。大家可以看到我們不斷減產減少消耗,以此使生產與實際需求匹配。
The Southampton plant is only a small part of Ford's European operations, but this expected closure signals a general decline in the industry. Peugeot, Volkswagen and others are also struggling.
英格蘭南安普頓貨車工廠僅是福特在歐洲眾多工廠中一家,但是這一預期的閉廠預示了汽車工業的總體下滑趨勢。標致、大眾以及其他汽車制造商都在苦苦掙扎中。
We will be impacted by, you know, the European situation. But we have a degree of resilience or protection if you like. Because we are selling products to fast-growing markets, places like China, Russia, the US and Middle East. And that obviously helps to balance off the you go significant declines we are seeing in mainland Europe.
我們將繼續受到歐債危機的影響。但是我們保持了一定的彈性或者著自保能力。因為我們在向那些快速增長的市場出售產品,如中國、俄國、美國以及中東。這顯然有助于平衡我們在歐洲大陸所遭遇的顯著下降。
Interestingly, Ford's plans to cut capacity is a sign that the company believes things won't get better for a few years yet. By cutting jobs in order to cut losses, they are making their move before their rivals. It will be no surprise though, if others go down the same road.
有意思的是,福特減產卻在表明,福特并不相信幾年內情況會變糟糕。裁員是為了減少損失,他們在對手之前搶先行動了。因此,如果其他汽車制造商也采取此類作法,也就毫不奇怪了。