France Finds a Buyer for Ford Transmission Plant

Ford Motor Co. is close to selling its transmission plant in Blanquefort, France, after announcing in June that it would shut down the factory unless a buyer stepped forward.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire says a deal could be completed by the end of October with Belgian gearbox supplier Punch Powerglide Strasbourg SAS. The plant employs 900 workers.

Ford has been signaling its desire to close the plant for years. It sold the factory in 2009 to a company that intended to make windmill components there. But the plan collapsed, and Ford bought back the facility two years later.

The complex received French government aid in 2013 in return for Ford’s pledge to continue using the facility to 5- and 6-speed automatic transmissions for five years. The plant makes gearboxes to BMW, General Motors, Tata Motors and several Chinese carmakers.