Ford has announced it will cut 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years as the automaker switches its focus to electric vehicle production and adopts a “leaner” structure.
The car-making giant will cut 2,300 jobs in production development and administration in Germany, 1,300 in the United Kingdom, and 200 across the rest of Europe. Ford made it clear the cuts will not affect its goal of producing an all-electric fleet of cars by 2035, and expects its first European-built electric passenger vehicle to start production later this year.
“Here in Europe we’ve got a pretty difficult economic situation, and the outlook is uncertain,” explained Tim Slatter, chairman of Ford of Britain, told the BBC.”High inflation, higher interest rates, the ongoing war in Ukraine, cost of energy and so on.”
Ford will retain 3,400 engineers in Europe whose task will be to build on the core technology provided by their counterparts in the United States, and adapt it to European customers.
In addition to switching focus towards electric vehicles, Ford is also attempting to move away from its positions as a seller of mass-market cheaper cars. Instead the automaker wants a smaller range of vehicles which are seen as more exotic, as seen with its Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. The company will also focus on its commercial vehicles.
Ford has already ceased production of the Mondeo and will end its production of the Fiesta in June.
“These are difficult decisions, not taken lightly. We recognize the uncertainty it creates for our team, and I assure them we will be offering them our full support in the months ahead,” Martin Sander, general manager of Ford Model e in Europe told CNBC. .
“Paving the way to a sustainably profitable future for Ford in Europe requires broad-based actions and changes in the way we develop, build, and sell Ford vehicles. This will impact the organizational structure, talent, and skills we will need in the future.”