Ford to cut one in five jobs in the UK as it prepares for major transformation
Ford will cut 1,300 jobs in the UK over the next two years – a fifth of its UK workforce, the car-making company announced.
The job cuts come as part of a major restructuring programme that will see the company slash 3,800 jobs across Europe.
Ford is cutting back on development staff as the company faces an uncertain economic future, preparing for the transition to electric vehicles.
Most of the UK job cuts will be at its research site at Dunton in Essex. Several hundred back-office posts are also expected to be closed at sites across the country.
But production sites at Halewood, Dagenham and Daventry will not be affected.
“Here in Europe we’ve got a pretty difficult economic situation, and the outlook is uncertain,” explained Tim Slatter, chairman of Ford of Britain.
“High inflation, higher interest rates, the ongoing war in Ukraine, cost of energy and so on.”
Ford Europe’s major transformation
He said Ford of Europe is preparing for a major transformation of its business. By 2030 they expect all its cars built in Europe to be fully electric.
Two out of three commercial vehicles will be either electric or plug-in hybrids by the same date.
Ford will also attempt to move away from being viewed as a mass-market supplier of cheap everyday cars.
The company wants to develop a slimmer line-up of more exotic vehicles as well as focusing on its portfolio of commercial vehicles, notably the Transit.
As Ford transitions from petrol and diesel to electric, it will require fewer product development staff – due to electric cars being mechanically simple.
A total of 2,800 engineering jobs are to be cut across Europe, mostly in the UK and Germany,
“These are difficult decisions, not taken lightly”, said Martin Sander, European head of Ford’s electric vehicles division.
“We recognise the uncertainty it creates for our team, and I assure them we will be offering them our full support in the months ahead.”
