Ford to Cut 3,800 Jobs in Europe in EV Shift

Job losses are focused on Ford’s European product development and administration

Ford Motor Co. is planning to slash 3,800 jobs in Europe over the next three years to lower costs and boost profit as it continues to shift toward electric vehicles, the auto maker said Tuesday.

The bulk of the job cuts would primarily hit Ford’s European product-development staff, reducing the number of Europe-based engineers as the company relies more heavily on U.S. development and electric-vehicle technology it has licensed from Volkswagen AG.

“This will impact the organizational structure, talent, and skills we will need in the future,” said Martin Sander, the executive in charge of electrifying the company’s product line in Europe.

Global auto makers and their suppliers are engaged in a transition to EVs that is changing the way they develop, design and produce cars—and is putting pressure on profits. Ford, which has long struggled to make money in Europe, recorded a $2 billion net loss worldwide last year.

Most of the European job reductions will be at Ford’s German operations in Cologne and Aachen, Mr. Sander said, where 2,300 jobs will be cut. Another 1,300 jobs are to be eliminated in the U.K., with the remaining 200 across Europe.

Ford is resizing its European workforce in the midst of a global push to invest $50 billion in the development of EVs over the next few years, including a $2 billion investment to retune its Cologne plant to begin producing EVs using VW’s MEB electric-vehicle technology later this year, with another model due to launch in 2024.

Last year, Ford said it would also end production of vehicles at its plant in Saarlouis, Germany, in 2025 and build a new generation of EVs using technology developed in the U.S. at its plant in Valencia, Spain. Ford currently employs 34,000 people in Europe.

The German job cuts announced on Tuesday don’t include potential job losses at its Saarlouis plant, where production of the Ford Focus compact is due to end in 2025. Ford employs around 4,600 people in Saarlouis.

Ford has said it is in “ongoing negotiations with a number of potential buyers” for the Saarlouis plant. People familiar with those talks say Ford has held talks with Chinese EV maker BYD Co., about a potential sale.