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BERLIN — Ford employees will be updated on negotiations with management over planned job cuts in Europe later this month
Ford said in January that it would decide by mid-February how many jobs would be lost in the region.
The automaker did not say how many jobs could be axed but the works council at its Cologne plant in Germany said that up to 3,200 roles, mainly in product development and administration, may be cut in the worst-case scenario.
A representative of the Cologne works council, which supports the interests of employees, said it had invited workers to a meeting on Feb. 14 to update them on negotiations with management over the job cuts.
A Ford spokesperson declined to comment.
Ford needs to be “aggressive” in improving its quality and cost structure in Europe and the U.S., CEO Jim Farley said on an earnings call last week, after reporting a fall in quarterly profits. on Feb. 1.
Productivity of Ford’s engineers in Europe was 25 percent to 30 percent lower than it should be, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler added on the call.
Farley and Lawler are due to speak at a conference on Feb. 15 in New York City about how the company is overhauling its operations to spur growth.
The works council in Cologne want management to commit to no layoffs before Dec. 31, 2032, and that the roughly 2,500 product development staff there remain part of the automaker’s global development landscape.
Ford has committed to an all-electric passenger car lineup in Europe by 2030 and its U.S. leadership has repeatedly flagged that EVs require less labor.
The automaker will need fewer engineers in Europe as it axes traditionally high-selling but low margin volume models including the Fiesta and Focus while launching new battery-electric cars, first using Volkswagen’s MEB all-electric platform, then after 2030, a new software-defined electric architecture developed in the U.S.