UK - Ford is facing a lawsuit over pension rights for the former employees of Visteon, a supply group sold by the company in 2000.

Unite, the UK's biggest union, claims Ford provided "misleading" information when workers considered transferring accrued pension benefits from the automobile maker's pension scheme to Visteon's.

Unite argued that the information provided "led the workers to believe that, if they transferred their Ford benefits to the Visteon UK pension scheme, their pensions would be secure".

However, due to the company's administration, pensioners who transferred to Visteon were only able to draw the maximum level of payment allowed by the Pension Protection Fund, rather than the full amount accrued.

Roger Maddison, Unite's national officer, said: "Ford misled many of these workers, leading them to believe their pensions were safe with Visteon.

"Ford failed to clearly set out the risks associated with transferring the assets staff had built up with Ford - now, many of these workers face vastly reduced pensions."

Trustees of the Visteon pension fund have previously fought to reclaim money from the company during its insolvency proceedings, but the UK Pensions Regulator said it would be inappropriate to use its 'moral hazard' powers in the case.