1200 jobs welcomed by city

“The residents of the City of Tshwane, especially the youth, stand to benefit as the company continues to train hundreds of youths, artisans and technicians.”

July 22, 2019

Reitumetse Mahope 1 minute read

Ford South Africa will be adding a third shift that will add 1200 new jobs from August at its Silverton Plant in Pretoria. Photo: Facebook

Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa has welcomed the growth of a Silverton motor manufacturer that will give 1 200 more residents of the city jobs and skills from August.

Currently, Ford employs around 4 300 people in South Africa.

“I welcome Ford Motor Company Southern Africa’s announcement to add a third shift, which is set to create 1 200 new jobs,” said Mokgalapa.

Ford’s motor plant in Silverton is responsible for supplying cars to South Africa and 148 other countries across the globe, with a capacity to produce 520 cars daily.

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Mokgalapa said with the new shift the plant’s capacity would increase to 720 cars per day.

“This news means that residents of Tshwane, especially young people, stand to benefit as the company will continue to train hundreds of youths as well as 104 skilled artisans and technicians,” he said.

Mokgalapa said the decision by Ford to invest in this capacity-building to this extent was an indication that the city remained an attractive investment destination.

“I urge the business community to continue encouraging employment by including the city as a preferred investment partner.”

The minister of trade and industry, Ebrahim Patel, shared the same sentiment with the municipality and welcomed the announcement of the additional shift at the motor plant.

The investment by Ford is part of the R3-billion investment commitment announced in 2017.

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“The Automotive Production and Development Programme and the recently announced Automotive Masterplan has a clear programme of doubling employment in the sector,” Patel said.

“This announcement by Ford SA is an indication that these ambitions are in progress.”

Patel said the Automotive Masterplan was also set out to reach several objectives which included having a localisation employment rate of 60%, therefore doubling employment in the whole sector by 2035.