US corporation
Ford is cutting 2,900 jobs in Germany
Updated 11/20/2024 – 2:51 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Job cuts in the auto industry continue. The US manufacturer Ford wants to cut thousands of jobs at its Cologne site.
The US car manufacturer Ford wants to cut 2,900 jobs in Germany by the end of 2027 and thus reduce costs. The company also announced that most of the jobs in the Cologne plant will be eliminated. Overall, Ford is aiming to cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, 800 of them in Great Britain and 300 in other EU countries.
The European headquarters and the production of two electric car models are located in Cologne. According to the works council, Ford currently has around 11,500 jobs in the cathedral city – that would mean that around one in four Ford jobs there could be eliminated.
The company said Ford had made high losses in the passenger car segment in recent years. In this segment, the costs of switching to electric cars are high. The company also referred to Stromer competitors and strict CO2 emissions targets. From Ford's perspective, such requirements are an obstacle to the separate business with combustion engines.
Ford is not alone with its problems. Ultimately, all German car manufacturers are currently under a lot of pressure. After the state subsidy for electric cars was abolished, demand has collapsed, and the sluggish economy and job fears are also leading to consumer reluctance to buy.
Ford manager Marcus Wassenberg said that they wanted to continue to operate a strong business in Europe for future generations. “We must therefore implement difficult but decisive measures to ensure Ford's competitiveness in Europe.”
Management reinforced its appeal to federal policymakers to improve market conditions. In Germany and Europe there is a lack of “a consistent and clear political agenda to promote electromobility,” complains Ford executives.
Ford has invested almost two billion euros in its Cologne site in 2023 and 2024 in order to be able to produce electric cars. Production of the Fiesta small car combustion engine model was discontinued. Two electric car models from Ford are now rolling off the assembly line in Cologne – they are the first series production cars from Europe.
But the high expectations have not yet been met to any extent. Management had to reposition itself when German boss Martin Sander unexpectedly moved to VW this summer. Other senior managers also turned their backs on Ford.
In order to solve the problems, Ford is now continuing to shrink. In 2018, the car manufacturer still had almost 20,000 employees in the cathedral city, but by the end of 2027 there will likely be less than half of that number.
