The Ford Motor Company is cutting 4,000 jobs in Europe by the end of 2027 to reduce costs as its passenger vehicle business suffered significant losses in the recent years due to a bet on EVs having gone wrong.
This will affect Germany and the UK primarily with minimal reductions in other European markets, the company announced in a press statement on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
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This comes at a time when Ford had invested $2 billion into its Cologne plant to make it an electric vehicle center.
However, Europe lacks enough pro-EV policies to support their adoption, the company said.
“What we lack in Europe and Germany is an unmistakable, clear policy agenda to advance e-mobility, such as public investments in charging infrastructure, meaningful incentives to help consumers make the shift to electrified vehicles, improving cost competitiveness for manufacturers, and greater flexibility in meeting CO2 compliance targets,” said John Lawler, vice chairman and chief financial officer of Ford Motor Company.
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The company also claimed to have urged industry, policymakers, trade unions, and social partners in Europe to promote EV-friendly policies, but to not much effect so far.
Ford also said that it is adjusting the production program for the new Explorer and Capri due to the currently weak economic situation there and lower-than-expected demand for electric cars.
Another reason for the losses has been cited as new competition which the company has called “highly disruptive.”
All this will result in additional short-time working days at its plant in Cologne, Germany, during the first quarter of 2025.
“It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford’s future competitiveness in Europe,” said Dave Johnston, Ford’s European vice president for Transformation and Partnerships.
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