Ford, an American manufacturer, proposed to eliminate 1 in 9 of its product development and administrative positions in Europe during the next three years, totaling 3,800 people.
The plan aims to reduce costs in Europe and concentrate engineering expertise in the US. A closer examination of the figures reveals that 2,300 workers will be let go in Germany, 1,300 in the UK, and 200 jobs would be lost in other European countries.
Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, has stressed time and time again that producing electric vehicles (EVs) will need to employ fewer labour and significantly reduce costs in order to remain competitive.
The American automaker leads the European market for commercial vans but has struggled to earn significant profits from passenger vehicles, warning this month that it will be “extremely aggressive” in cutting manufacturing and supply chain expenses this year.
“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,” said European passenger EV Chief Martin Sander.
Despite job cuts, the business plans to keep its promise of having an all-electric fleet on the Old Continent by 2035. Ford is investing $50 billion in electrifying its product lineup, shifting to a shorter lineup with higher prices to offset increased production costs for electric vehicles.