Ford Motor Co. says it will reduce its workforce by 4,000 in Europe and the UK by the end of 2027, citing headwinds from the economy and pressure from increased competition and weaker than expected sales of electric cars.
Ford said Wednesday last week most of the job cuts would come in Germany and would be carried out in consultation with employee representatives.
Of the total, 2,900 jobs would be lost in Germany, 800 in Britain and 300 in other European Union countries. Ford has 28,000 employees in Europe, and 174,000 worldwide.
Photo: Bloomberg / 照片：彭博社
“The global auto industry continues to be in a period of significant disruption as it shifts to electrified mobility,” the company said in a statement. “The transformation is particularly intense in Europe where automakers face significant competitive and economic headwinds while also tackling a misalignment between CO2 regulations and consumer demand for electrified vehicles,” the statement said.
In Europe, automakers must sell enough electric vehicles to meet new, lower limits for fleet average carbon dioxide emissions in 2025, and face a longer term 2035 EU goal of reducing emissions to zero, which would mean the elimination of most vehicles with internal combustion engines.
EV sales however have lagged as consumers weary of inflation have held back on spending and after major car market Germany dropped government purchase incentives for EVs. Electric vehicles sales fell by 5.8 percent in the first nine months of the year in an overall shrinking market for cars. Carmakers are also facing increasing competition from Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Photo: Bloomberg / 照片：彭博社
The company said that it would also reduce working time for workers at its Cologne, Germany, plant where it makes the Capri and Explorer electric vehicles.
Ford is an established brand in Europe and will mark its 100th anniversary of doing business in Germany next year. Its main plant in Cologne started production in 1931; the groundbreaking was attended by Henry Ford and then-Mayor Konrad Adenauer, later Germany’s chancellor.
Ford is not alone in suffering from headwinds. Volkswagen has said it is contemplating closing as many as three of its German plants, according to its chief employee representative. European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association has called for a speedier review of lower C02 limits slated for 2026.
Ford said company vice chairman and CFO John Lawler had written a letter to the German government reiterating Ford’s commitment to climate goals but urging action to improve market conditions and ensuring the industry’s future success.
“What we lack in Europe and Germany is an unmistakable, clear policy agenda to advance e-mobility, such as public investments in charging infrastructure, meaningful incentives to help consumers make the shift to electrified vehicles, improving cost competitiveness for manufacturers, and greater flexibility in meeting CO2 compliance targets,” Lawler said.
(AP)
福特汽車表示，將在2027年底之前在歐洲和英國裁減4,000名員工，理由是經濟困難、競爭加劇以及電動車銷量低於預期帶來的壓力。
福特上週三表示，大部分的裁員會是在德國，將在與員工代表協商後進行。
其中，德國將裁撤2,900個職位，英國800個，其他歐盟國家300個。福特在歐洲有28,000名員工，在全球有174,000名員工。
該公司透過聲明表示：「全球汽車業在向電動車轉型的過程中持續處於嚴重混亂時期」。聲明寫道：「歐洲的轉型尤其劇烈，汽車製造商面臨巨大的競爭和經濟困境，同時還要解決二氧化碳排放法規與消費者對電動車的需求之間不一致的問題」。
在歐洲，汽車製造商必須銷售足夠的電動車，才能符合所有生產車輛之平均二氧化碳排放量標準，而2025年新規定的排放量更低，到了2035年還須達到零排放量的歐盟長期目標，這表示大多數內燃機汽車需要淘汰。
然而，由於消費者受通貨膨脹影響而減少支出，以及主要汽車市場德國不再有購買電動車的政府補貼鼓勵措施，電動車銷售不振。在汽車市場整體萎縮的情況下，今年前9個月電動車銷量下降了5.8%。汽車製造商也面臨中國製電動車日益激烈的競爭。
福特表示，還將減少德國科隆廠之工人的工時；該廠負責生產Capri和Explorer電動車。
福特在歐洲是知名品牌，明年將迎來在德國開展業務100週年。其位於科隆的主工廠於1931年開始生產，亨利‧福特及時任市長、後來的德國總理康拉德‧艾德諾還出席了開工動土典禮。
福特並不是唯一面臨困境的公司。大眾汽車首席員工代表表示，該公司正考慮關閉多達三個德國工廠。歐洲汽車製造協會呼籲加快審查2026年的二氧化碳排放限值。
福特表示，該公司副董事長兼財務長約翰‧勞勒已致函德國政府，重申福特對氣候目標的承諾，但敦促政府採取行動改善市場狀況，並確保汽車業未來順利發展。
「歐洲和德國缺乏的是清楚明確的政策規畫，來推動電動車發展，例如對充電基礎設施的公共投資、幫助消費者轉向電動車的有意義的鼓勵措施、提高製造商的成本競爭力，以及符合二氧化碳排放標準的更靈活作為」，勞勒說道。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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