According to the works council, the car manufacturer Ford is once again pulling out the red pen in Europe. They have been informed that there will be another restructuring program in Cologne and at locations in other EU countries, said the works council chairman of Ford Europe, Benjamin Gruschka, to the German Press Agency in Cologne. The aim is to become “leaner and more efficient”. According to him, this is already the fourth restructuring program since 2018. At that time, Ford had just under 20,000 employees in Cologne. Now there are only around 13,000.
The exact extent of the planned job cuts for Germany is still unclear, and according to the works council, management will not announce this until the end of June. The company was initially unavailable for press inquiries. Previously, the Cologne City Advertiser reported. Ford is going through a difficult phase. Long-standing combustion engine models such as the small car Fiesta have been phased out, and Ford’s share of the passenger car market in Europe has fallen over the years. Parts of the development department have moved to the USA.
With an investment of almost two billion euros, the US company continued to rely on its Cologne site, which includes not only the European headquarters but also production. The first electric Ford Explorer recently rolled off the production line as a series vehicle – it is Ford Europe’s first electric vehicle produced for the mass market, and it is a beacon of hope for the carmaker. A second model is to follow this year. The production capacity for these two models will be up to 250,000 vehicles per year in the future.
Works council member Gruschka was sharply critical. “Instead of concentrating on the market launch of the two Cologne electric cars, the European top management is causing a lot of uncertainty with its announcement of a new wave of restructuring,” said Gruschka. They had just completed one restructuring plan and the next was already following. According to the works council, management stayed away from a works meeting on Tuesday morning, leaving it to the employee representatives to deliver the bad news. In addition to Cologne, Ford also has a site in Saarlouis (Saarland). Production there is to be stopped at the end of 2025 – this was decided some time ago.