Ford Explorer electric vehicle parked on a car transporter at a Ford factory. This is Ford’s first electric vehicle in Europe. U.S. automaker Ford hopes to cut 2,900 jobs in Germany by the end of 2027 to reduce costs.
Rolf Wennan Bernd | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Ford said on Wednesday it would cut about 14% of its European workforce as weak demand for electric vehicles, a lack of government support for a shift to electric vehicles and increased competition have led to heavy losses in recent years.
The U.S. company is the latest automaker following Nissan, Stellantis and General Motors to cut costs as the industry faces increasing competition from Chinese rivals in Europe, falling demand in China and a shift to electric vehicles that have Still too expensive for most consumers to buy.
Ford It said that the 4,000 layoffs will mainly be in Germany and the United Kingdom. Globally, the layoffs represent approximately 2.3% of Ford’s 174,000 employees.
The measures are a particularly big blow to Germany, Europe’s largest economy and largest carmaker. Volkswagen Threatens to close factories, cut wages and eliminate thousands of jobs in an effort to become more competitive.
The country’s deepening political crisis has also added uncertainty to businesses grappling with growing trade tensions with China and Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. election.
Ford said the European job cuts will occur by the end of 2027.
European carmakers “face significant competitive and economic headwinds while grappling with inconsistencies between CO2 emissions regulations and consumer demand for electric vehicles,” the company said in a statement.
Ford’s European sales fell 17.9% through September this year, far exceeding the industry-wide decline of 6.1%.
Ford has also specifically called on the German government to provide more incentives and better charging infrastructure to help consumers transition to electric vehicles.
Berlin ended subsidies for electric cars in December. In the first nine months of this year, German electric vehicle sales fell by 28.6%.
Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said: “What we lack in Europe and Germany is a clear, clear policy agenda to promote electric vehicles, such as public investment in charging infrastructure, meaningful incentives… …and greater flexibility in achieving CO2 compliance targets.
Ford has been undergoing painful restructuring in Europe, announcing in February 2023 that it would lay off 3,800 people.
The European Union has imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, saying they benefit from unfair subsidies from the Chinese government.
