Ford Is Slashing Jobs And Cutting Production But Not In The US

Ford Motor Company is overhauling its operations in Europe, potentially cutting thousands of jobs, closing factories and shutting down production of unprofitable vehicle models, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The company’s reorganization comes as traditional car manufacturers struggle to clear new hurdles such as environmental policies against combustion engines and growing investment in electric vehicles. Troubled Brexit negotiations are also causing uncertainty in the company’s future operations.

Steven Armstrong, Ford’s president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, did not give specific details regarding the cuts and closures but said the overhaul would affect operations at every level, according to WSJ.

“It will be a significant number within the 50,000 we employ” across Europe, Armstrong said describing the impact the cuts would have. Ford expects to announce more firm plans at the end of June.

Governments across Europe have taken steps in recent years to legislate combustion engines out of existence. France, Germany and the United Kingdom have taken steps to lead the effort.

The U.K. and France plan to ban the use of gas and diesel engines from each country by 2040 while many Germany cities have debated similar bans that would likely damage the country’s auto manufacturing industry.

The European Commission has set goals to cut emissions from new vehicles by 30 percent by 2030 in order to combat climate change. Numerous cities around Europe have passed their own bans to cut down on emissions from transportation. Most bans are pushed with the overarching goal of combatting climate change.

The Trump administration has taken steps in the U.S. to relieve automakers of the pressures that facing the sector in Europe. President Donald Trump’s push for tariffs has offset those gains and have potentially cost automakers billions of dollars in productivity, however.