Ford Motor Co. announced on Wednesday that it is moving about 400 employees to various southeast Michigan plants in order to reduce production at its Wayne, Michigan grow and that it will be reducing its workforce by 4,000 in Europe by the year 2027.
Although Bronco SUV sales were up 105 % year-over-year in October, deliveries are down 10 % overall in 2024. Over the course of the second quarter of 2025, according to a director, Lars Weborg, the council plant’s almost 6, 000 employees will be transferred from the Wayne facility. Second, people who are represented by United Auto Workers will submit a rank application to transfer to the Monroe Parts Depot, Dearborn Engine Plant, and other areas.
” We are adjusting output to best serve our users”, Weborg said in a statement. As we approach the release of model year 25 as we approach the start of the new year,” we are encouraged by the speed heading into the close of the year,” according to the statement.
Michigan Assembly, which likewise builds the large Ranger trailer, may be down the initial two months in January to make for the model-year shift. The Dearborn Electric Vehicle Center will remain in one change thanks to the next team it added earlier this year.
The Bronco plant’s decline was first reported by Automotive News.
The decline in labor in Europe is a result of the economy’s increased competition, underperforming sales of electric vehicles, the move being disrupted by Chinese rivals ‘ continued expansion into the market there.
The carmaker has emphasized the need to lower operating costs across its entire range of business. A$ 2 billion annual reduction in costs for materials, manufacturing, freight and labor remained insufficient for covering product-freshening, inflation at the company’s joint venture in Turkey and warranty costs,  , contributing to a 25 % decrease in net income in the third quarter  , alongside a charge for canceling an electric three-row SUV program.
At the Barclays Global Auto and Mobility Conference, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler stated that the company would remain “aggressive in restructuring where we felt the need to do so.”
Germany and the UK may experience the most work cuts. They may occur in conjunction with speaks with staff representatives, according to Ford. It also may reduce production time for employees at its Cologne, Germany, grow. That, the Capri and Explorer EVs are created it.
According to Lawler, past restructurings in South America, India, and Europe have resulted in a favorable free cash flow place. He anticipates lower capital expenses and higher profits as a result of the layoffs. Ford anticipates that its 2024-year operating income will be around$ 10 billion.
” It is critical to take challenging but crucial action”, Dave Johnston, Ford’s Western vice president for change and alliances, said in a speech,” to ensure Ford’s upcoming attractiveness in Europe”.
The condition specially is “intense” in Europe, according to a news release, resulting from increased competition from new Chinese-subsidized car comments, economic challenges and “misalignment” between restrictions seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and lack of consumer desire for EVs.
In Europe, a fresh lower-emissions cap for port average carbon dioxide emissions will become effective in 2025. Increased EV sales have been hampered by inflation and Germany’s reduction of customer incentives for EV buys. With also lower pollution limits set for 2026, the German Automobiles Manufacturers ‘ Organization, a trade group for the economy, has urged that a review of those laws take place immediately.
” What we lack in Europe and Germany”, Lawler said in a declaration, “is an unmistakable, obvious policy agenda to improve emobility, such as public investments in charging infrastructure, valuable incentives to aid consumers make the shift to electric vehicles, improving cost competitiveness for manufacturers, and greater flexibility in meeting CO2 compliance targets”.
Ford shares were trading 3 % lower at$ 10.70 on Wednesday afternoon.
There are continued worries about the pain Ford is seeing, not just in Europe, but in the United States, as well. President-elect Donald Trump has suggested the up-to-$ 7, 500 plug-in vehicle tax credit could on the chopping block, and , Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk could play a large decision-making role in the administration.
Because it will be difficult to sledding in Europe over the next six to twelve months, said Daniel Ives, an analyst at financial services firm Wedbush Securities Inc. Ford is not alone. They’re seeing the same headwinds as many others. Unfortunately, they need to rip the Band-Aid off”.
Ford this year also cut its F-150 Lightning plant in Dearborn to a one-shift operation in April, a move affecting 1, 400 jobs, with about 700 workers transferring to Michigan Assembly. As the company looks to prioritize profitability over sales on the money-losing Lightning, the EV plant started idling on Friday and will continue doing so until the end of the year.
In recent months, there have also been job cuts at other automakers. General Motors Co.  , on Friday said it was laying off 1, 000 people, including hourly and salaried in various departments globally, with a majority working out of the Detroit automaker’s Global Technical Center in Warren. GM in August also laid off more than 1, 000 salaried employees working in its , software and services organization.
This fall, Stellantis has cut, or made plans to cut,  , nearly 4, 000 factory jobs , in southeast Michigan and Toledo, Ohio, as the struggling automaker looks to trim costs and deal with falling sales of several key models. Additionally, it has attempted to reduce its white-collar workforce, which efforts this year included the March layoff of about 400 engineers and software employees.
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.  , earlier this month , said it planned to cut 9, 000 jobs and reduce capacity by a fifth to cut costs after sales declines in China, Japan and North America.
Rivian , Automotive Inc., the California-based EV maker, has ordered multiple layoffs this year, including a 10 % reduction in its workforce in February. The moves were made to “right-size the business”, a company spokesperson said after it laid off about 1 % of the workforce in April.
Volkswagen AG, a German automaker, announced in late October that it plans to shut down at least three plants in Germany after struggling with its operations in China and Europe.
Musk , said in April , that Tesla, the Texas-based EV maker, would cut more than 10 % of its global workforce.
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