Following a long and successful run, the Ford Fiesta was discontinued after production of that model ended recently at the Cologne Assembly plant – now known as the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center. It will soon be joined by the Ford Focus, as production of that model will also end at the Saarlouis Assembly plant in Germany in 2025 amid the automaker’s ongoing EV pivot in Europe. However, The Blue Oval plans to keep the Saarlouis plant open through 2032, even after Ford Focus production ends, albeit with a greatly reduced workforce, and some recent comments from Martin Sander, general manager of Ford Model e Europe, indicated that the company may wind up continuing to offer small cars in that region after all. At the same time, Sander also admitted that Ford Focus production won’t be extended past 2025, according to Autocar.
Sander said that Ford doesn’t have “any plans to extend Focus production” past mid-2025, even though it is still having a hard time finding a buyer for the Saarlouis plant, and will continue to operate that facility for years to come. However, Ford is seemingly only planning to hold onto that facility and some workers due to an agreement it reached with the German union IG Metall.
That union previously agreed to Ford’s proposed job cuts at the Saarlouis Assembly plant when Ford Focus production ends next year, with the total reduction coming in at around 3,500 workers. This means that only 1,000 of the plant’s current 4,500 employee workforce will remain intact after next year. FoMoCo also noted that the remaining 1,000 workers can stay at the plant through 2032 with no forced redundancies, and if they wish to leave early, they’ll receive an “attractive” severance package.
As Ford Authority previously reported, The Blue Oval has been actively seeking an investor for the Saarlouis plant – a list that reportedly included Chinese EV maker BYD, Magna International, VDL Nedcar, and an unnamed “major” investor. However, the latter party reportedly dropped out of any potential deal last year, and Ford is seemingly no closer to reaching an agreement with any other company at the moment, too.
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Comments
Focus…big mistake……I still love my Mondeos..…My works cars would do 140k every two years and had to mix it on sites with CAT 777 100ton dump trucks.
On my sixth Kuga since retiring…very pleased…but never anything electric.
As a PS my mileage up to retirement in 2013 was 1.25 million miles…mostly in Fords.
I also like cars (Focus/Mondeo etc.) , maybe Ford will scale down a CAT 777 truck for the next Escape/KUGA edition. Maybe that would satisfy American desire for a more “manly” vehicle.
Hard to understand how Ford is listening to the woke mob (Who’s not buying EV’s) instead of the customer base that keeps them in business…
Getting rid of both the Fiesta and Focus In Europe to replace with EV’s that don’t sell is revenue suicide.
Likewise, getting rid of the Edge and Nautilus in the US and Canada in hopes that North American customers will jump to EV’s that don’t fit most users lifestyle is another ruinous idea.
The last car I bought from Ford was a Mondeo and we still have a Focus n the family. Besides the Mustang, I will buy absolutely nothing from Ford. Not everybody like SUV´s or crossovers or is willing to buy one no matter what.
Sad…:-(
And Lincoln suffers also. Ford could easily produce a proper LS, Continental and Mark9 off of the Mustang S650 platform to maximize the platform and better profits. How soon before Lincoln gets closed down joining Mercury?