Ford to cut 4,000 jobs mostly in Germany and UK

London — Ford said on Wednesday it would cut about 14% of its European workforce, blaming losses in recent years amid weak demand for electric vehicles, poor government support for the shift to EVs, and competition from subsidised Chinese rivals.

The US vehicle maker is the latest — after Nissan, Stellantis and GM — to cut costs as the industry faces challenges that include EVs that are too expensive for consumers to buy.

Ford said the 4,000 job cuts would be primarily in Germany and the UK. Globally, the layoffs represent about 2.3% of Ford’s workforce of 174,000.

The measures will be a big blow for Germany in particular, Europe’s largest economy, where Volkswagen is threatening to close factories, slash wages and cut thousands of jobs to improved its competitiveness. The country’s deepening political crisis has added uncertainty for companies grappling with growing trade tensions with China and implications of the US presidential election victory of Donald Trump.

Ford said the European layoffs should take place by the end of 2027, pending discussions with unions. The company said 2,900 of the job cuts would be in Germany and 800 in Britain.

The company said it would reduce production of its Explorer and Capri EV models at its Cologne plant in Germany.

Ford Europe vice-president Peter Godsell said Ford was experiencing “weaker demand for electric vehicles than we had previously forecast and we continue to have challenges about our operating costs ... so we need decisive action to restructure our business”.

He said Ford hoped the job cuts would address the company’s problems, but added that “we certainly can’t rule out” additional measures if market conditions worsen.

Through to end-September, Ford’s sales in Europe fell 17.9%, far outstripping an industrywide decline of 6.1%.

Ford also called on the German government to provide more incentives and better charging infrastructure to help consumers transition to EVs.

Berlin ended EV subsidies in December and sales in the first nine months of 2024 were down 28.6%.

“What we lack in Europe and Germany is an unmistakable, clear policy agenda to advance e-mobility, such as public investments in charging infrastructure, meaningful incentives ... and greater flexibility in meeting CO₂ compliance targets,” Ford CFO John Lawler wrote in a letter to the German government.

Ford has been undergoing a painful restructuring in Europe. It cut 3,800 jobs in February 2023 and plans to close its Saarlouis plant in Germany in 2025, with further job cuts.

The EU has slapped tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, saying they benefit from unfair subsidies from China’s government.

Marcus Wassenberg, MD at Ford’s German division, said the move reflected changes in the car industry. He singled out Germany for its high labour and energy costs, and said all job cuts would occur at the company’s main plant in Cologne.

Reuters