In an effort to streamline operations as it contends with economic headwinds and greater competition in the electric vehicle market, Ford stated on Tuesday that it would eliminate 3,800 jobs in Europe over the course of the next three years.
According to the automaker, 2,300 jobs would be lost in Germany, 1,300 in the UK, and 200 in other parts of Europe. According to a report by news agency Reuters, the business also stated that its goal of providing an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035 remained unchanged and that production of its first European-built electric car will start later this year.
According to the company, Ford is aiming for a "leaner, more competitive cost structure in Europe." It stated that it will start negotiations with the goal of achieving the reductions through initiatives encouraging voluntary separation.
By 2025, the US manufacturer expects to eliminate 2,800 technical positions and 1,000 administrative positions as a result of the switch to simpler electric vehicles. However, it plans to maintain about 3,400 engineering positions across Europe.
Based on Volkswagen's MEB platform, Ford will launch its first electric vehicle in Europe later this year in Cologne. Ford is also thinking about bringing a Ford platform to Europe, perhaps to its Valencia facility.
Ford's European workforce recently experienced a wave of layoffs in 2019 and 2020 as the automaker attempted to achieve a 6% operating margin in the region. However, the pandemic derailed this plan, and pretax profit margins in Europe in the first nine months of 2022 were only 2.2% of sales.
