Ford has faced its fair share of struggles in Europe recently, and that’s particularly true in the country of Germany, specifically. There, Ford Germany is roughly €5bn ($5.4 billion USD) in debt, which prompted the automaker to invest €4.4bn (around $5 billion USD) in that same unit back in March in an effort to keep it afloat. Meanwhile, the Ford Cologne plant in Germany – which builds the all-electric Capri and Explorer for Europe – has seen its output slashed amid weak demand for those models, and now, it’s facing more issues as a result of the automaker’s plans to trim jobs in the region.
As Ford Authority reported earlier this week, workers at the Ford Cologne plant represented by the union IG Metall were planning to go on strike today, and now, that’s precisely what has happened. At the time, it was unclear why, exactly, those workers were planning to strike, but according to Reuters, the move is being made in protest over thousands of planned job cuts across Ford’s entire European operations. 93.5 percent of employees at the plant voted in favor of a strike, and the union has paused negotiations with the automaker until it receives what it calls “an offer that is acceptable for conclusion.”
“The strike today costs a couple of million euros in losses,” said works council head Benjamin Grushka of the planned 24-hour strike. “So it hurts. I would be surprised if the Ford plants don’t invite us for further talks tomorrow over the course of the day. If the employer doesn’t make a move, we are ready to strike.”
Ford has been quite up front about its struggles in Europe recently, a region where its sales declined by 17 percent in 2024 versus the year prior. Facing a bleak future in Europe amid weak demand for EVs and passenger vehicles in general, The Blue Oval is shuffling its leadership team and shifting its focus more toward the commercial side of the business, which is enjoying tremendous success there, at least, all while calling for robust government incentives in an effort to drum up demand for electric vehicles.
Comment
Over 5 billion in losses in Europe due to slow EV sales? About the same in the US!!! What will it take for shareholders to wake up and abandon all EV production!!!! We don’t want or need electric vehicles!!!