Ford to cut 3800 jobs across Europe, including 1300 in UK
FORD WILL AXE 3800 jobs across Europe, primarily in Germany and the UK, as part of a dramatic costcutting programme.
Ford of Europe boss Martin Sander said the company’s local workforce was being downsized in pursuit of a “leaner and more costcompetitive structure”.
Ford’s European engineering operations are the most dramatically impacted, accounting for 2800 of the axed roles (1700 in Germany, 1000 in the UK and 100 elsewhere in Europe), although Sander emphasised that the company will retain 3400 engineering roles in the region.
The other 1000 affected positions are administration roles, split across Germany (600), the UK (300) and other European countries (100).
Ford hasn’t detailed the financial implications of these job cuts. Sander said the engineering workforce was being reduced chiefly because of the “drastically reduced complexity of powertrains” as the firm widens its portfolio of electric passenger and commercial vehicles.
“You will see more agile and more integrated working overall in our engineering team globally,” he said, “and of course there’s significantly less work to be done on drivetrains as we move out of combustion engines.”
However, Sander did say that Ford will continue to invest in the transformation of its site in Halewood, Merseyside, from a gearbox factory to an EV drive unit factory – an initiative set to cost around £380 million.
Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Essex is set to be among the facilities most affected by the news.
When asked whether it can continue operating, Sander said: “The very simple answer is yes. Dunton is a global centre of competence for our light commercial vehicles globally, supported by testing facilities in Germany, and we’re absolutely convinced that our Dunton team in the UK will be able to do this job in the future.”
❝ Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Essex is set to be among the facilities most affected ❞