US carmaker Ford cuts more jobs in Germany

DW (English)

US automobile giant Ford is tightening its belt and cutting another 1,000 jobs at its Cologne factory, after previous cuts there last year. The move comes amid weak demand for electric vehicles in Europe.

Transcript

00:00Ford has invested nearly 2 billion Euro in its Cologne plant in recent years, converting

00:06the production facility to solely manufacture electric vehicles.

00:11At the start of the initiative, Ford estimated that by now every third newly registered car

00:16would be electric.

00:18In reality, it's only 18 percent, according to Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority.

00:24Now the plant will only operate one shift per day instead of two starting in January.

00:29Since 1930, Ford has been building cars in Cologne and for a long time the global bestseller

00:34Fiesta was the plant's main product – a solid and affordable small car.

00:41But the electric Ford models currently in production – the Explorer and the Capri – have a price

00:46tag of over 40,000 Euro and aren't attracting enough buyers.

00:51Ford is producing stockpiles in Cologne, according to the Center of Automotive Management in North

00:56Rent-Westphalia.

00:58The planned one-shift operation in such a modern facility, designed for high capacity, is

01:03economically questionable, the Center says.

01:07Ford's priority is simply to limit losses.

01:10The automaker urgently needs more affordable models to succeed in the market, the Center

01:15argues, otherwise further job cuts are likely.

01:19It's clear, by 2027, about 7,600 employees are expected to remain here.

01:25A decade ago, around 20,000 people worked at the site.

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