The day began with a touch of gallows humour - a handwritten sign tied to railings above the main entrance read: "To let, £10 o.n.o."
But that ironic reference to the resurrection of Longbridge, bought from BMW for a symbolic £10, was the last time anyone was in the mood for jokes. As the shift spilled out of the Dagenham assembly plant in east London at lunchtime, clutching redundancy letters handed to them minutes before, they spoke of a bitter rift between winners and losers under the deal.
Union officials warned of industrial action, saying a meeting had been called for Monday to urge a strike ballot. Peter Singh, 40, a Transport and General Workers Union shop steward, said Ford had broken its 1997 promise to maintain production. "The men are very agitated. They feel let down."
Some found themselves entitled to generous packages: a supervisor in his mid-50s with 30 years service could expect to get a £51,800 payout on top of his £16,400 pension. Others were not so fortunate.
Steve Johnston, 42, an electrician, said: "I've been here for 18 years but I am not old enough to get a pension, and I am devastated.
"I would like to know: why Dagenham? We are expected to be more efficient and we are cheaper to employ than the German worker.
"Some people are jubilant and only want to go. Others in my situation feel sickened. I have got a £500 a month mortgage, and three children. There are no jobs around here."
If Mr Johnston were to have been 45 in 2002, when the plant will finally close, he would be eligible for a package in which the pension is deferred until 50, on top of a lump sum payout.
As it is, he will take away little more than a year's wages. "In 2002 I will 44 years and one month. At my age I can only take voluntary redundancy and all I am offered is £37,000."
Dain Wilsher, 25, an assembly line worker, has been offered £25,000 after five years' service. "I was quite upset," he said. "I was hearing things on the radio before they told me. We always seem to be the last to know.
"The mood is terrible in there. Tempers are going all the time. No one knew what was happening.
"We feel betrayed. I was expecting a steady job for life. There are not that many good jobs out there unless you have got qualifications and experience which I don't have."
Women in the canteen, not employed by Ford but by a contractor, also face the end but stand to receive meagre payouts. Pamela North, 56, a cashier, said she would get a week's pay for each of 16 years' service.
As the morning shift filed out at 1pm no new shift came in to replace them. For nine months, Fridays have been a single shift due to low demand for Fiestas.
Four hundred of the 1,900 offered redundancy can instead take the chance of new jobs in Dagenham's engine plant, or move to plants in Southampton, Swansea, or Bridgend.
But Gengiz Osman, 36, with a Spurs scarf wrapped around his neck, said: "Why would I want to go to Southampton? My wife won't move there, and I don't want to take the kids there."
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