Ford has been dealing with all sorts of global challenges in recent years, ranging from supply chain disruptions to uneven demand for its vehicles to changing consumer trends, tariffs, and uncertainties in the regulatory world. Generally, these sorts of things lead to layoffs, but in Germany, The Blue Oval managed to avoid that recently amid slow demand for Explorer and Capri EV at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center via voluntary redundancies. However, Ford now plans to lay off workers at two of its other plants, both located in South Africa.
According to Bloomberg, Ford plans to cut around 470 jobs from the Silverton Assembly plant and the Strundale Engine plant, news that comes from a notice sent to labor groups that represent workers at those facilities, including Solidarity. Those two plants currently employ around 5,300 people in total, but these cuts come in a country that is already facing one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, while more than a third of the vehicles it produces are exported to India and China.
“We see this announcement as possibly the beginning of greater job losses facing the entire automotive industry in South Africa,” Solidarity Deputy General-Secretary Willie Venter said. “We fear that further retrenchments in this industry may be inevitable if conditions do not improve quickly.” In a statement, Ford said that the job cuts “follow adjustments to its manufacturing operations in South Africa as ongoing efforts to optimize production and respond to evolving market demands.”
Workers at the Silverton plant just went on strike last summer, seeking bonuses for workers, but returned to work in early July following a court order that temporarily put a halt to those efforts. The court reportedly made its decision to halt the strike due to the economic impact it was having on the community as a whole, coupled with competitive concerns. The Blue Oval has invested heavily in that plant as it transitioned to production of the redesigned Ford Ranger, and it also builds the new Ranger PHEV, too.
This one is going to expire on August 31st.
Closing the week at $11.77 per share.
Interest-free financing and more on all-electric full-size pickup truck.
Water may enter the body control module and cause a loss of communication.
It was filed by a former employee who was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
A feature we may see in autonomous vehicles one day.
