Ford’s decision to trim back its all-electric ambitions somewhat has led to some ripple effects across its global operations, as expected. Aside from focusing more on hybrids in the short term, the automaker is also relaxing its plans to go all-electric across its entire European portfolio, which means that its future lineup in that region is in a bit of a flux. With EVs already requiring less labor to produce than ICE models, Ford announced last year that it would be cutting 1,100 positions at the Valencia Assembly plant in Spain, and now, it’s primed to trim even more positions at the same facility.
The Valencia Assembly plant – which is being converted for the production of hybrid and all-electric vehicles – is now set to shed another 1,600 of its 4,700 jobs, according to Reuters. Of that total, around 1,000 could possible be brought back once the plant’s output ramps up to 300,000 units annually in 2027 as expected, while the other 600 are permanent reductions. At this time, only the Kuga is produced at Valencia, though an all-new hybrid model is expected to join it soon.
This is just the latest move Ford has made after recently announcing that it no longer plans to field a full-EV passenger vehicle lineup in Europe by 2030, instead focusing on a mix of pure ICE, hybrid, and EV models in that region for the foreseeable future. Regardless, Ford Focus production is still slated to end at the Saarlouis Assembly plant in Germany in 2025, even amid this pivot.
At the same time, mass production of the Ford Explorer EV just began at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center in Germany last week, and it will soon be joined by a second model underpinned by Volkswagen’s MEB platform. Beyond those two crossovers, Ford Europe’s EV future is a bit murky at the moment, though it could utilize a low-cost platform for upcoming models, as will be the case in the U.S.
We’ll have more on the future of the Ford Valencia Assembly plant soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
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