Ford announces brutal job cuts and reduction in electric car production

A Ford revealed this Wednesday, 20, the elimination of 4 thousand jobs in its operations in Europarepresenting a cut of 14% of its staff on the continent.

The American automaker also revised down production expectations for electric models Explorer e Capri.

These cuts will primarily affect employees in Germany and the United Kingdom, with smaller impacts in other European markets.

The decision is part of efforts to adjust operations in the face of economic challenges and the lack of policies to encourage electric mobility.

Production of the Explorer and Capri models takes place at Ford’s factory in Cologne, Germany, which is key to the company’s strategy to become all-electric in Europe by 2030. However, this transition has faced significant barriers.

“In Europe and Germany, there is a lack of clear policies to promote electric mobility, including investments in charging infrastructure and tax incentives for consumers,” he said. John Lawler, CFO and Ford.

The European market for electric vehicles (EV) shows signs of contraction, with a notable decline in sales, especially in Germany, where the number of new EVs sold fell by almost 37% in July 2024, compared to the same month the previous year.

This scenario worsened after the German government ended a program that offered subsidies of up to €6,000 for the purchase of new electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

Ford’s share of the European passenger car market has also declined, from 4.1% in the first nine months of last year to 3.3% in the same period this year, according to data from Bloomberg.

Additionally, the company recently paused production of its electric pickup truck F-150 Lightning until after the new year, a weaker than expected response to demand.

Increasing competition from Chinese automakers has also been a pressure factor, leading to increased European tariffs on Chinese imports to try to balance competition in the EV market on the continent.