The American manufacturer Ford announced on Wednesday 4,000 new job cuts in Europe by the end of 2027, mainly in Germany and the United Kingdom, a new illustration of the difficulties in the automobile sector.
“The company has suffered significant losses in recent years and the industry’s shift to electric vehicles and new competition has been very detrimental,” the group said in a statement.
Sales of electric cars have been slowing for a year in Europe while social plans are increasing among automobile manufacturers and suppliers, also affected by increased Chinese competition.
The plan announced by Ford represents 14% of the group’s workforce in Europe. Among these deletions, 2,900 must affect Germany, 800 the United Kingdom and 300 the rest of Europe, told AFP a spokesperson for Ford, which employs 174,000 people worldwide, including 32 000 people in Europe.
This announcement comes on top of the cuts of 3,800 positions announced last year on the old continent.
The manufacturer, which was one of the pillars of the European automobile industry, has seen its market shares collapse over the last twenty years and represented 4.4% of new car sales in 2023 worldwide, far behind Volkswagen (6%) and Toyota (10.7%).
Ford said it had turned to the German government to ask for public investment in charging infrastructure as well as “meaningful incentives to help consumers transition to electric vehicles” as Germany last year ended environmental bonuses for the purchase of electric cars.
The German economy, of which the automobile industry is one of the pillars, is particularly affected by the sector’s difficulties. Volkswagen, national flagship and largest European manufacturer, is going through an unprecedented crisis and is currently negotiating a major savings plan which could lead to thousands of layoffs or even factory closures.
