Union Says Layoffs At Ford EV Plant Could Kill Facility

As Ford Authority reported earlier this month, FoMoCo recently informed workers at the Ford EV plant known as the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center in Germany that it would be scaling back production of the Ford Explorer EV and Ford Capri due to weak demand for those relatively new models. Those plans include having employees work one week and then take one week off until the upcoming Christmas vacation, and the automaker also plans to scale back shifts in 2025, too. However, the union that represents workers at that Ford EV plant has issued a grave warning about these production cuts.

According to Reuters, that union – IG Metall – believes that Ford’s decision to cut production of the Explorer EV and Capri at the Cologne plant could have severe consequences in the long run. “In our view, this would be an incremental death,” said IG Metall representative Kerstin Klein. “We know the toolbox available in such a dispute and will not hesitate in giving the workforce the appropriate outlet for their anger,” added David Luedtke, a workforce representative.

Ford stopped producing the Fiesta at the Cologne plant this past summer, replacing it with the Explorer EV and Capri on those assembly lines following a $2 billion dollar investment in the facility. With consumers not quite gravitating toward those or all-electric vehicles in general, FoMoCo ditched its admittedly “ambitious” plan to transition fully to EV passenger vehicles in Europe by the end of the decade this past May.

“The significantly lower than expected demand for electric vehicles, especially in Germany, requires a temporary adjustment of production volumes,” a Ford spokesperson said at that time. “We are producing more cars than we can sell.” At the same time, Focus production is slated to end at the Saarlouis Assembly plant in Germany in November 2025, after which that facility will shed most of its workers, too.

Moving forward, Ford plans to continue to offer ICE and hybrid-powered vehicles in Europe as long as it possibly can, though that region – along with other places like the UK – are also aiming to pass zero-emissions mandates that would force automakers to shift toward electrification. However, Ford and other parties are arguing that without robust incentives, they’re unlikely to meet those goals given current demand. In the meantime, the automaker plans to reduce its European workforce by 4,000 employees by the end of 2027, with most of the cuts occurring in Germany and the UK.