Ford Motor, a US-based automaker, is to slash up to 3,200 positions throughout Europe, with employees in Germany being the hardest hit. According to the IG Metall union in Germany, the firm is apparently intending to shift certain product development work to the United States.
If the cuts are implemented, the union threatened to disrupt the automaker across Europe.
In the second part of last year, Ford laid off 3,000 workers, the majority of whom were in the US. These moves are followed by layoffs throughout Europe, as per the reports by Reuters.
“We absolutely have too many people in some places, no doubt about it,” Farley told analysts in July after the layoff news broke.
“We have skills that don’t work any more, and we have jobs that need to change.”
Automakers are under pressure to reduce costs due to rising costs for the materials used in electric vehicle batteries and anticipated slowdowns in the U.S. and European economies. This pressure has increased as a result of the EV price war started by Tesla Inc earlier this month, according to experts.
IG Metall told, up to 2,500 product development jobs and up to 700 administrative positions could be eliminated by the corporation, with German facilities being the most severely impacted.
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At works council meetings on Monday, employees at the American automaker's Cologne facility, which employs around 14,000 people overall, including 3,800 at a development centre in the Merkenich district, were informed of the plans, reported Business Today.
The spokesperson for Ford in Germany declined to comment, citing a statement released on Friday that stated the company would withhold further comment until final plans were in place and that the transition to the production of electric vehicles (EVs) needs structural adjustments.
Ford announced a $2 billion investment earlier this year to increase manufacturing at its Cologne factory in order to produce an all-electric model for the mainstream market. The Ford Fiesta, as well as its engines and transmissions, are currently produced at the site.
As part of a significant EV push on the continent, the automaker, which employs around 45,000 people in Europe, is planning seven new electric models in the region, a battery assembly site in Germany, and a joint venture for the production of nickel cells in Turkey.
