The cuts will affect the marketing and sales departments in Spain that are concentrated in Madrid
Ford will lay off 3,800 employees in Europe to create “a leaner and more competitive cost structure” on the continent. A restructuring that will affect 2,300 workers in Germany, 1,300 in the United Kingdom and 200 in the rest of Europe, including the Madrid offices, but not the Almussafes plant in Valencia.
Specifically, the company will reduce its Engineering structure in Europe by 2,800 employees. “These changes are driven by the transition to 100% electric powertrains and less vehicle complexity. Ford will maintain an engineering organization with some 3,400 positions in Europe, focused on vehicle design and development, as well as the creation of connected services.
In addition, the company will lay off some 1,000 employees to create a “more agile cost structure for administrative functions, marketing, sales and distribution” in Europe. As for the layoffs in Spain, company sources have indicated to Europa Press that the number of workers affected will be “proportional to the size of the market”, although they have not specified a figure.
However, the layoffs in Spain will not affect the Ford plant in Almussafes and will be concentrated in the Marketing and Sales area that the car company has in Madrid, the sources consulted have indicated. Despite this, this does not mean that the factory will not be affected since it is assumed that there will be a cut in the structure that will come sooner rather than later because, until the arrival of electric cars, the load will fall work by stopping assembling conventional vehicles.
In this sense, in Germany there will be 1,700 layoffs linked to the product development area and 600 linked to administrative functions. In the United Kingdom there will be 1,000 layoffs in the product development area and 300 in administrative functions, while in the rest of Europe the 200 total layoffs are divided 50% for each area.
“Difficult decisions”
“These are difficult decisions that have not been taken lightly. We recognize the uncertainty it creates for our team and I assure you that we will offer our support in the coming months. We will initiate a dialogue with our union partners to jointly advance in the construction of a prosperous future for our business in Europe”, said the general manager of Ford Model E in Europe, Martin Sander.
“To lay the foundation for a sustainably profitable Ford business in Europe, we need to act and change the way we develop, build and sell Ford vehicles. This will impact the organizational structure, talent and skills that we will need in the future”, he added.
#Ford #announces #layoffs #Europe #waiting #finalize #departures #Valencia