The Ford Fiesta is still made and sold in Europe where Ford is losing money and cutting jobs, while it has cut the Fiesta from the North American lineup.
Ford.com
Ford’s global job reduction continues as the automaker says it is eliminating 12,000 jobs in Europe to become more efficient and profitable.
The move is not unexpected as Ford’s business in Europe has been slipping for years, and it has forged an alliance with Europe’s number-one automaker Volkswagen that reduced workforce needs on the continent.
The reduction is part of a broader restructuring, which includes closure of six plants in Europe. Ford is reducing its total number of plants in the region to 18, while reorganizing operations into three divisions: commercial vehicles, passenger cars and imports of Ford models such as the Mustang.
Ford says most of the positions will be cut via voluntary separation programs through the end of 2020. Some 2,000 jobs will be salaried positions, part of 7,000 white collar jobs being cut globally.
Ford lost $398 million in 2018 in Europe. Ford says it is closing its Bridgend engine plant in Wales, a transmission plant in France, and three plants in Russia. It is selling its Kechnec transmission plant in Slovakia to Magna.
Ford is trying to pivot to a more competitive position in a coming age of electric and autonomous vehicles. But, like all automakers, it is having to do so at a time when those technologies require great capital outlay now with almost no return on investment.
Ford needs strong profits to fund such investments. To that end, it has been eliminating vehicle lines, such as four-door sedans, in North America, which have been unprofitable for years. Ford Europe says all of its future vehicles will now come with an electric variant, such as a battery or battery-internal combustion hybrid. And it has an aggressive EV and Hybrid strategy in North America.
There is a global shift to fewer jobs in autos. GM said in November it is reducing headcount by 14,000. Volkswagen said in March it will eliminate up to 7,000 jobs by 2023. That’s on top of a 2016 job reduction agreement that foresaw the loss of 23,000 jobs through 2020, and the addition of 9,000 through new technology.
