Ford to cut 3,800 engineering, administration jobs in Europe

BERLIN — Ford plans to cut 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe in the next three years, the company said on Tuesday, citing rising costs and the need for a leaner structure as it pivots production to electric vehicles. Around 2,300 jobs will go at the carmaker’s Cologne and Aachen sites in Germany,…
Ford to cut 3,800 engineering, administration jobs in Europe

BERLIN — Ford plans to cut 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe in the next three years, the company said on Tuesday, citing rising costs and the need for a leaner structure as it pivots production to electric vehicles.

Around 2,300 jobs will go at the carmaker’s Cologne and Aachen sites in Germany, 1,300 in the UK and 200 in the rest of Europe, the company said, adding it intended to achieve the reductions through voluntary programs.

Financial Post Top Stories

Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

The news comes as a blow to unions who said in late January the worst-case scenario was 2,500 job cuts in Europe in product development and a further 700 in administration.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

  • Access articles from across Canada with one account
  • Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
  • Enjoy additional articles per month
  • Get email updates from your favourite authors

The cuts were needed to “revitalize business in Europe,” Ford said in a statement.

The automaker signaled more cost cutting on its results call in early February, and Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said it would be “very aggressive” in reducing expenses in manufacturing and supply chain operations.

Lawler also said at the time that productivity of engineers in Europe was 25-30% lower than it should be.

The U.S. group will retain around 3,400 engineers in the region who will build on core technology provided by their U.S. counterparts and adapt it to European customers, European passenger electric vehicle (EV) chief and head of Ford Germany Martin Sander said on a press call.

“There is significantly less work to be done on drivetrains moving out of combustion engines. We are moving into a world with less global platforms where less engineering work is necessary. This is why we have to make the adjustments,” Sander said.

Nothing has changed in the carmaker’s electrification strategy, Sander added, with the goal of offering an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035 still in place.

Ford is due to launch its first electric vehicle in Europe built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform in Cologne later this year and is considering bringing a Ford platform to Europe, possibly to its plant in Valencia, Sander said.

“We are preparing our organization to compete and win in a region facing unprecedented economic and geopolitical headwinds,” he said.

Ford’s European staff last saw a wave of job cuts in 2019 and 2020 as the carmaker pursued a 6% operating margin in the region, a goal thrown off course by the pandemic, with pretax profit margins in Europe in the first nine months of 2022 at just 2.2% of sales. (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter)

Read More

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Posts
Marcos Nears Bottom in Philippine Markets Poll Favoring Robredo
Read More

Marcos Nears Bottom in Philippine Markets Poll Favoring Robredo

Author of the article: Bloomberg News Karl Lester M. Yap and Cynthia Li (Bloomberg) — Philippine investors are lukewarm to the prospect of a Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos presidency, with Vice President Leni Robredo emerging as their top pick to oversee an economic rebound, according to a Bloomberg poll. A survey of 28 investors and analysts…
UK first to approve Omicron COVID shot with Moderna nod
Read More

UK first to approve Omicron COVID shot with Moderna nod

Author of the article: LONDON — Britain, the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, has now also given the first green light to a variant-adapted shot that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus. The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) gave the so-called bivalent vaccine made by U.S. drug…
Slalom Named Snowflake Partner of the Year
Read More

Slalom Named Snowflake Partner of the Year

Author of the article: Global consulting firm earns honor for fifth consecutive time SEATTLE, June 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Slalom has for the fifth consecutive time been named a Partner of the Year by Snowflake, the Data Cloud company—this year specifically as Snowflake’s Americas Global SI Partner. The global consulting firm, which is focused…