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Ford cuts production
Ford said it would cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, while lowering production estimates for its upcoming Explorer and Capri electric vehicles.
The planned job cuts, which represent 14 % of the European business, will mainly affect workers in Germany and the UK, with "minimal redundancies" in other European markets. Ford has 28,000 employees in Europe and 174,000 worldwide.
Sales of electric cars are slowing around the world, some countries are ending subsidies, so many manufacturers are in the same situation as Ford. The largest manufacturers were forced to take a step back and consider their strategies for the next decade.
Ford is also struggling at home, where it recently halted production of the F-150 Lightning pickup truck until the end of the year due to reduced demand.
The Explorer and Capri electric cars are assembled at the German factory in Cologne, which is the center of Ford's drive to electrify the company by 2030. So far, many things are not going according to plan, so they have cut the number of employees by 35 % in the past 5 years.
The arrival of Chinese models, which are cheaper on average, was another big blow to Ford and other manufacturers. European regulators have recently raised tariffs on Chinese imports, but it is still too early to realistically assess what impact this will have on the European market. Ford CEO Jim Farley got behind the wheel of Xiaomi's SU7 e-car for several weeks to find out how China has solved the puzzle of making a low-cost electric vehicle.
"In Europe and Germany, we lack a clear and unambiguous policy agenda to promote e-mobility, such as public investment in charging infrastructure, meaningful incentives for consumers to switch to electrified vehicles, improving the cost competitiveness of manufacturers and greater flexibility in meeting CO2 emission targets," said Ford CFO John Lawler.
Data for July 2024 shows that sales of electric cars in Germany fell by 37 % compared to the same period a year ago. They also canceled the subsidies with which German buyers could reduce the purchase of an electric and hybrid car by up to 6,000 euros.
