Ford cuts 4000 jobs in Germany, UK as EV take-up slows

Ford says it will cut about 14 per cent of its European workforce, blaming losses in recent years amid weak demand for electric vehicles, poor government support for the shift to EVs and competition from subsidised Chinese rivals.

The US car maker is the latest - after Nissan, Stellantis and GM - to cut costs as the industry faces challenges that include EVs that are too expensive for consumers to buy.

Ford said the 4000 job cuts would be primarily in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Globally, the lay-offs represent about 2.3 per cent of Ford's workforce of 174,000.

The measures will be a big blow for Germany in particular, Europe's largest economy, where the region's biggest car maker Volkswagen is threatening to close factories, slash wages and cut thousands of jobs to allow it to compete better.

The country's deepening political crisis has added uncertainty for companies grappling with growing trade tensions with China and implications of the US presidential election victory of Donald Trump.

Ford said the European lay-offs should take place by the end of 2027, pending discussions with unions.

The company said 2900 of the job cuts would be in Germany and 800 in the UK.

The company said it would reduce production of its Explorer and Capri EV models at its Cologne plant in Germany.

Speaking to reporters, Ford Europe vice president Peter Godsell said Ford is experiencing "weaker demand for electric vehicles than we had previously forecast and we continue to have challenges around our operating costs ... so we need decisive action to restructure our business".

He added that Ford hoped the job cuts would address the company's problems but said "we certainly can't rule out" additional measures if market conditions worsen.

Through September this year, Ford's sales in Europe fell 17.9 per cent, far outstripping an industry-wide decline of 6.1 per cent.

Ford also called on the German government in particular to provide more incentives and better charging infrastructure to help consumers transition to EVs.

Germany ended EV subsidies in December last year.

EV sales in the country in the first nine months of this year were down 28.6 per cent.

"What we lack in Europe and Germany is an unmistakable, clear policy agenda to advance e-mobility, such as public investments in charging infrastructure, meaningful incentives ... and greater flexibility in meeting CO2 compliance targets," Ford's chief financial officer John Lawler wrote in a letter to the German government.

Ford has been undergoing a painful restructuring in Europe, announcing 3800 job cuts in February 2023.

It is closing its Saarlouis plant in Germany next year, with further job cuts.