Ford plans to cut 3,200 jobs across Europe and move some product development work to the United States, the German IG Metall union said, adding that if layoffs continue, they will disrupt automakers across the continent.
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IG Metall said Ford wants to cut 2,500 product development jobs and another 700 administrative jobs, with Germany being the most affected.
Ford’s Cologne plant employs about 14,000 people, including 3,800 workers at a development center near Merkenich, who were told of the plans at a workers’ council meeting Monday.
Ford declined to comment, saying in a statement Friday that the shift to electric vehicle production would require structural changes, but it would not divulge more information until the plans were finalized.
Ford last year announced a $2 billion investment to expand production at its Cologne plant, which currently makes the Fiesta as well as engines and transmissions, to build mass-market, all-electric models.
Ford is planning to launch seven new electric vehicle models in Europe, a battery assembly site in Germany and a nickel battery manufacturing joint venture in Turkey as part of a major push for electric vehicles (EVs) in the continent.
Ford also has a partnership with Volkswagen to build 1.2 million vehicles on the German automaker’s MEB electric platform over six years.
But Ford warned last June that its plants in Spain and in Saarlouis, Germany, would be making significant job cuts in the near future because the shift to EV production would mean fewer labor hours to assemble the cars.
Ford of Europe manufactures, sells and services Ford-branded vehicles in 50 markets, employing about 45,000 people at its own facilities and in consolidated joint ventures.
