Ford axes 3800 jobs in Europe; 1300 in UK

Ford has announced 3800 occupation cuts crossed Europe – chiefly successful the UK and Germany – arsenic portion of a melodramatic cost-cutting programme.

Ford of Europe brag Martin Sander announced the cuts today, explaining that the company's section workforce is being downsized successful pursuit of a "leaner and much cost-competitive structure".

Ford's European engineering operations are the astir dramatically impacted, accounting for 2800 of the axed roles – 1700 successful Germany, 1000 successful the UK and 100 elsewhere successful Europe – although Sander did emphasise that the institution volition clasp 3400 engineering roles successful the region.

The different 1000 affected positions are medication roles, divided crossed Germany (600), the UK (300) and different European countries (100).

Sander said: "Believe maine - these are highly hard decisions which person not been taken lightly. We recognise the uncertainty this creates for our squad and I tin guarantee each our employees we volition beryllium offering our afloat enactment successful the months ahead."

Ford has not elaborate the fiscal implications of these occupation cuts.

Sander said the engineering workforce was being downsized chiefly due to the fact that of the "drastically reduced complexity of powertrains" arsenic the institution widens its portfolio of electrical rider and commercialized vehicles.

"You volition spot much agile and much integrated moving wide successful our engineering squad globally, and of people determination is importantly little enactment to beryllium done connected drivetrains arsenic we determination retired of combustion engines and into a satellite with little apical hats, little planetary platforms and – connected apical of that – little engineering enactment generally. That is wherefore we person to marque the adjustments."

He did, however, explicate that Ford volition proceed to put successful the translation of its Halewood, Merseyside mill from a gearbox manufacturing tract to an EV thrust portion mill – an inaugural acceptable to outgo astir £380 million.

Read more: Ford UK centrifugal works to proviso 70% of brand's European EVs

Ford's Dunton Technical Centre successful Essex is acceptable to beryllium among the facilities astir affected by the news. When asked whether it tin proceed operating by Autocar, Sander said: "The precise elemental reply is yes. Dunton is simply a planetary centre of competence for our airy commercialized vehicles globally, supported of people by investigating facilities successful Germany, and we are perfectly convinced that our Dunton squad successful the UK volition beryllium capable to bash this occupation successful the future."

Sander emphasised that the occupation cuts bash not person immoderate contiguous bearing connected Ford's program to person an wholly electrical line-up successful Europe by 2035, stating: "We are not announcing a caller strategy. We are alert of our Ford Plus strategy and thing has changed of our strategy."

The occupation cuts person been announced not agelong earlier Ford volition amusement a long-awaited, Europe-focused electric crossover utilizing Volkswagen's MEB architecture, which is owed to participate accumulation in Cologne earlier the extremity of the year.

A 2nd MEB-based electrical car volition beryllium launched adjacent year, astatine which constituent the fashionable Ford Puma crossover volition person an electrical derivative - to beryllium produced alongside the petrol car successful Craiova, Romania.

Sander besides spoke of the anticipation of Ford bringing different level to Europe, and suggested the company's mill successful Valencia could beryllium adapted to physique cars atop this caller architecture. It remains unclear what signifier this exemplary could take.

"On the 1 hand," helium said, "there are changes successful the marketplace which we person to address, but connected the different manus of what I've announced contiguous is simply a very, precise breathtaking program going guardant to gathering a caller Ford institution successful Europe."