Status: 01/23/2023 2:26 p.m
According to the works council, the US carmaker Ford wants to cut jobs at its Cologne location on a large scale. According to the IG Metall union, up to 3,200 workers could be affected.
The US carmaker Ford is planning major job cuts in Cologne. If the management enforces its previous plan, up to 3,200 jobs could be lost, said the deputy works council chief of the Ford works, Katharina von Hebe. At the beginning of the year, Ford still had 14,000 employees in the cathedral city. “The situation is shocking for the employees,” warned von Hebe.
In two meetings, the works council reported to the employees about the plans and referred to internal guidelines of the management for Ford in Europe. The top management has not yet commented publicly on the matter.
Automaker in transition
Ford is currently pushing ahead with its plans to expand electromobility in Europe, the company said. From 2030, the company wants to sell only electric cars in the EU. “This transformation requires significant changes in the way we design, build and sell Ford vehicles and impacts our organizational structure and the skills we will need going forward.” The company intends to provide further details as soon as the plans have been finalized and the workforce has been informed.
The US car company, which had long focused on combustion engines, only got on the electric course relatively late. The company will continue to rely on the Cologne site, which is being converted at a cost of billions in investments for the production of new electric models.
According to IG Metall, the management justifies the current personnel plans with centralization in the USA, among other things. Ford has already undergone restructuring, three years ago the company still had almost 18,000 employees in Cologne.