Although the company is investing a lot of money in Cologne to push ahead with the e-car offensive, it is still laying off large numbers of employees. It also affects the Aachen location. At least fewer people have to go than feared.
The US carmaker Ford wants to cut 2,300 jobs in Cologne and Aachen. Ford said this was necessary for cost reasons. Most jobs are to be eliminated in the Cologne development department in the next three years, and administration is also affected. Around 14,000 people currently work for Ford in Cologne and around 200 in the Aachen research center.
The works council had already made the project public in January and at the time even feared the loss of up to 3,200 jobs in Cologne and Aachen. Jobs are also being cut in Great Britain, and Ford wants to reduce its workforce in Europe by 3,800 men and women.
Ford is in a state of upheaval, the car company swung to an electric course relatively late. This year, the first Ford electric cars manufactured in Europe are scheduled to roll off the production line in Cologne, while the combustion model Fiesta will be discontinued. From 2030, Ford wants to sell only electric cars in the EU and no more combustion cars. The company is investing billions in Cologne for electrical production, but with the layoffs that have now become known, the cathedral city is losing importance as a Ford development location.
For those familiar with the industry, the plan by the Americans comes as no surprise. Ford has been shrinking in Europe for decades and is simply not getting anywhere in its car business, says industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. "They are too small in the car business to be able to face the tough competition from the big players in Europe."
It's different with vans, the US group earns good money with the Transit model made in Turkey. "For cars, on the other hand, Ford is getting smaller - that's a shrinkage that exacerbates the problem of a lack of mass and profitability."
