Ford to cut up to 1,000 jobs at Cologne plant

FRANKFURT: US auto giant Ford said Tuesday it would cut up to 1,000 jobs at its plant in the German city of Cologne in the face of weak European demand for electric vehicles.

The plant would only work one shift a day from January 2026, Ford said, meaning positions would be subject to voluntary redundancy.

"Demand for electric vehicles in Europe remains significantly below sector forecasts," the firm said.

"Ford will therefore switch production at the Cologne plant to one shift a day from January 2026."

The plans come on top of 2,900 job cuts already announced in Germany as part of a programme to reduce costs across Europe.

Workers went on strike before a deal was struck in July which IG Metall union officials said would extend employment guarantees to more than 10,000 workers at the plant until 2032.

IG Metall did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

Ford has spent US$2 billion (RM8.38bil) refitting the Cologne plant for EV production in anticipation of higher demand for low-emissions vehicles.

But EV sales in Europe have failed to take off in the face of high up-front costs and sparse charging infrastructure.

Battery-electric cars made up about 15 percent of car sales on the continent in the first half of the year.

Separately, automotive supplier Bosch said Tuesday that "considerable delays" in EV adoption and subdued market development meant further job cuts would be necessary to help save 2.5 billion euros (RM12.35bil) annually.

Bosch has already announced about 6,600 layoffs since last November.