overnight Blue Oval announced it would cut 3,800 jobs, or about 11% of its total staff. Ford of Europe.
The automaker said 1,000 jobs will be lost from administrative functions and 2,800 jobs will be cut from product development. The majority of engineering jobs lost will occur in Germany (1700) and the UK (1000).
Once the cuts are completed, Ford predicts there will be about 3,400 engineers in Europe, who will focus on “vehicle design and development, as well as creating connected services.”
If Ford succeeds in making these cuts, it will shrink its European product development team by more than 45 percent.
Ford says it is hoping to “achieve reductions through voluntary separation programs” and that “these changes are driven by the transition to all-electric powertrains and reduced complexity.” complexity of the vehicle”. Ford is planning to launch a line of all-electric vehicles in Europe by 2035.
In a prepared statement, Martin Sander, head of Ford’s Model E division in the Continent, said the company is “completely reinventing the Ford brand in Europe” to become “an American without show off”.
The first phase of this transition will take place next quarter when Ford unveils its first electric vehicle built in Europe, which Sander promises is “certainly going to be a hit”.
The crossover will be the first of two vehicles based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture, both of which will be built in Cologne, Germany in place of the Fiesta currently being built there.
Launched in 2024 as an all-electric variant of the popular model leopard lion cross.
The next European electric vehicles are said to be based on a new, never-before-seen platform being developed in the US and will be built in Valencia, Spain.
In addition to these announced electric passenger cars, Ford Europe’s streamlined design and engineering division will also be responsible for maintaining the company’s position as the number one commercial vehicle brand. of the Continent.
It sold made in Turkey Electronic transitwhile getting smaller Custom electronic transit will go into production by the end of this year.
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Ford Scorpio 1994 -
As pointed out in a recent comment in European Automotive NewsFord’s market share in Europe has fallen dramatically over the past few decades, from 11.8% in 1994 to 8.2% in 2007 and 4.8% in 2021.
Ford car sales on the Continent could drop before they recover, with the company confirming last year that it will end festival production in 2023, with Concentrate to follow in 2025.
Although sales of the Focus and Fiesta have declined in recent years, the segments they enter are still very popular, with smaller vehicles and the Fiesta occupying six of the top 10 spots globally. charts. Europe sales chart last year.
There are rumors that Kuga/Escape will not be replacedalthough this does not mean that Ford will not have a car in the small crossover segment because the company sells more, certainly more Escape-based Sports Bronco in North America.
For Europe, the EV range will grow to include VolkswagenID.4full-size crossover this year, with a crossover coupe variant coming in 2024.
