Ford site in Saarlouis: Instead of cars, Junge Union wants to build tanks | Regional

Saarlouis (Saarland) – The suggestion at first sounds like a belated April Fool’s joke. But the state chairman of the Junge Union (JU), Stephan Laßotta, is serious: instead of Ford cars, tanks should roll off the assembly line in Saarlouis in the future. The necessary infrastructure should be funded by the federal government.

“We are calling for a tank factory as a successor to the Ford factory,” said the 29-year-old at the JU Saarland Day in the Mandelbachhalle in Erfweiler-Ehlingen. The JU boss knew that his proposed plan would cause a lot of chatter and quizzical looks in the hall – and as a precaution he added: “Yes, you’ve heard that.”

Laßotta justified his request, among other things, by “Russian aggression” against them Ukraine and the one announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65, SPD). A turning point. Background: The Bundeswehr should be modernized and made stronger.

To die Youth Union took Scholz at his word, who said in February 2022: “We will have to invest more in the security of our country. To protect our freedom and democracy in this way for Laßotta, one thing is certain: “This also includes armored vehicles that do work.”

The Ministry is open to negotiations

The JU boss also sees his proposal, which was unanimously agreed by the meeting, as a solution to the open future of the Ford site. Saarland. The last one should be there by the end of 2025 Ford Attention is generated.

Unfortunately, Saarland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs seems to be open to JU’s proposal, stating in response to BILD’s question: “There is nothing fundamentally wrong with negotiations with defense companies. The specific structure is fundamentally based on Ford’s plans to maintain 1,000 jobs at the site .

Currently, the ministry is in discussions with various parties in various sectors regarding the future of the Ford area. One spokesperson: “We consider future proof employment and they are working hard and with the highest priority on solutions.