“Ford said it would cut about 14% of its European workforce, citing heavy losses compounded by weak demand for electric vehicles, a lack of government support for the transition to electric vehicles and growing competition.”, — write: www.epravda.com.ua
Ford said it would cut about 14% of its European workforce, citing heavy losses compounded by weak demand for electric vehicles, a lack of government support for the transition to electric vehicles and growing competition.
About this informs Reuters.
The Ford company said that the reduction of 4,000 jobs will take place mainly in Germany and Great Britain. In general, the reductions amount to about 2.3% of the total number of Ford employees, which includes 174,000 people.
The measures will be a major blow in particular to Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and biggest carmaker, where Volkswagen has threatened to close factories, cut wages and cut thousands of jobs to improve its competitiveness.
The U.S. automaker has become the latest automaker after Nissan, Stellantis and GM to cut costs as the industry grapples with growing competition from Chinese rivals in Europe, declining demand in China and problems with the transition to electric vehicles that remain too expensive for most consumers.
Ford said the layoffs in Europe should take place by the end of 2027.
Ford’s sales in Europe fell 17.9% this September, well ahead of the industry-wide drop of 6.1%.
Ford also called on the German government to provide more incentives and improve charging station infrastructure to help consumers switch to electric vehicles.
Berlin stopped subsidizing electric cars in December 2023. Sales of electric cars in Germany fell by 28.6% in the first nine months of this year.
We will remind:
Ford Motor shares fell 6.6% in premarket trading after the automaker lowered its annual profit forecast.