FORD has denied its Dagenham plant is to be closed and says there is no planned change to the February 18 announcement that single-shift working would be introduced at the Essex plant in August and the loss of 1,320 jobs. The reduction of Fiesta and Courier output was ordered as part of a review by Ford's European management team to 'address the imbalance between supply and demand' but has led to speculation Dagenham was facing the axe.

Nick Scheele, Ford of Europe chairman, said: 'This move is a significant step towards resolving our capacity imbalance, but we will continue to look at all aspects of our European operations. Dagenham has been running substantially below capacity with significant downtime for many months.' Meanwhile, the manufacturer has said it is to continue with investment plans for a major engineering complex at Dunton, in a new London-based design centre, and in the Dagenham engine plant - the sole source of diesel engines for Ford.