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Ford will look to eliminate another 4 000 positions in Europe, further retrenching from a region where the transition to electric vehicles is losing traction industrywide.
The reductions — which amount to about 14 percent of Ford Europe’s workforce — will primarily hit operations in Germany and the UK by the end of 2027, pending consultations with unions and governments.
The automaker also announced Wednesday it will reduce production of Explorer and Capri EV models at its complex in Cologne, Germany.
Ford vowed in early 2021 to drastically overhaul its business in Europe, saying it would go almost completely electric by the end of the decade. That transformation hasn’t been going to plan, with the company announcing early last year that it would slash 3 800 jobs.
Peers including Volkswagen AG and Stellantis NV have issued profit warnings in recent months, citing the broad slowdown in vehicle sales and governments pulling support for EV purchases.
“What we lack in Europe and Germany is an unmistakable, clear policy agenda to advance e-mobility,” John Lawler, Ford’s vice chairman and chief financial officer, said in a statement.
He called for more public investment in charging infrastructure, meaningful EV incentives and greater flexibility in CO2 emissions-reduction targets, which the EU and UK are making more stringent next year. – Bloomberg
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