not many people know
Paul Homewood
Ford won't be the last.
Ford has announced it will cut 800 jobs in the UK over the next three years.
The move is part of a major restructuring plan that will see 4,000 jobs closed across Europe.
The company said the action was necessary due to difficult trading conditions, including fierce competition and weak demand for electric vehicles.
However, the job cuts will not affect its manufacturing sites in Dagenham and Halewood, or its logistics base in Southampton. Ford said it hopes to make most of its layoffs through voluntary layoffs.
“Announcing this is not something anyone would have wanted to do and I'm delighted it will have a very significant impact on our people,” said Lisa Brankin, managing director of Ford UK and Ireland.
“This is not news that anyone wants to hear at any time. So our goal is to try to achieve this through voluntary redundancies.
Ford employs 5,300 people in the UK.
The restructuring plan will reduce the number of employees by 15%. Most of them are expected to be in administrative or product development roles.
This is the second round of cuts to Ford's UK operations in less than two years. Indicated in March 2023 1,300 jobs to be eliminatedAccounting for one-fifth of its workforce, the majority are at the Dunton plant.
The latest news comes as carmakers across Europe are struggling.
Issues they face include high energy costs, lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers.
Many of the continent's biggest names, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, have seen profits plummet this year.
Volkswagen is even considering closing its factories in Germany, an unprecedented move.
“The auto industry is going through a period of huge disruption right now,” Ms. Blankin explained.
“We face unprecedented competition, regulation and many economic headwinds”
The pressures come as Ford struggles. The automaker is trying to shed its past image as a mass manufacturer of cheap “small cars” and position itself as a more premium brand focused on electric vehicles. last year, it stopped the carnival Nearly five years later.
In addition to the cuts in the UK, Ford will cut 2,900 jobs in Germany and 300 jobs elsewhere in Europe.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the government Facing huge pressure from the automobile industry Rules designed to force them to produce more electric cars. The issue will be discussed at an industry and ministers meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
Under the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) directive that comes into effect this year, at least 22% of cars sold must be zero-emission vehicles. If manufacturers fail to meet quotas, they could face fines of up to £15,000 per vehicle.
Many carmakers are already struggling to meet their targets, although flexibility built into the rules should allow them to avoid fines for the time being.
But this quota is expected to increase to 28% next year, to 33% in 2026, and to increase every year thereafter, reaching 80% by 2030.
The manufacturer insists this happens too quickly. Although sales of new electric cars are rising – one in five cars sold in October was battery-powered, they say this is misleading.
They claim demand for electric vehicles isn't high enough, forcing them to offer unsustainable discounts in an effort to meet their targets.
Some have called on the government to reduce quotas to give them more time.
Others say the government needs to provide more taxpayer-funded incentives for electric vehicles and do more to reassure car buyers that adequate charging infrastructure will be built.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20626dy9d6o
All three problems identified – electric vehicles, energy prices and competition from China – can be squarely blamed on successive governments.
It was clear from the start that there was never going to be enough demand for electric vehicles to achieve the stated targets. Manufacturers have been forced to offer unaffordable discounts for electric vehicles and are now cutting back on the number of internal combustion engine cars to artificially increase the proportion of electric vehicles. Even so, some countries will still be unable to meet ZEV targets, and moving deficits forward will be difficult.
It's also clear that a ban on the sale of gasoline/diesel cars would open the door to cheap Chinese electric cars. What we have done is throw away the technological advantages that British and European manufacturers have built up over many years.
Of course, energy prices speak for themselves.
Unless the electric car madness is abandoned and electricity prices are reduced to competitive levels, the UK and European car industries will be much smaller within a decade.
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