Current track

Title

Artist

Current show

Breakfast with Phil

7:00 am 9:00 am

Current show

Breakfast with Phil

7:00 am 9:00 am

Background

Ford axing 7,000 jobs including hundreds in UK

Written by on 21/05/2019

Car giant Ford has announced that it is cutting 7,000 white collar jobs worldwide, with up to 550 in the UK expected to be among the positions axed.

The US manufacturer said the cuts represented 10% of its global salaried workforce and 20% of its management positions.

Ford said about 2,300 of those affected were employed in the US.

It has previously disclosed that it is cutting more than 5,000 jobs in Germany, including salaried as well as hourly and temporary staff.

The UK job cuts – affecting its technical centre at Dunton, Essex – had also previously been reported.

Ford said: “We understand this is a challenging time for our team, but these steps are necessary to position Ford for success today and yet preparing to thrive in the future.”

Ford had revealed in January that the Dunton site would be impacted by the consolidation of its UK headquarters.

Those cuts were in addition to the 400 going at Ford’s Bridgend engine plant.

Ford employs 13,000 people in the UK, including the Bridgend site and another engine plant in Dagenham.

Globally, it has embarked on a multi-billion pound cost-cutting programme as well as reducing the number of vehicles in its line-up while introducing more electric and hybrid options.

Like many of its rivals, Ford has been caught out by a fall in the sale of diesel cars after VW’s emissions cheating scandal.

Steven Armstrong, the chairman of Ford Europe, told Sky News last month that the company would have to take a “long hard look” at its UK operations in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The latest jobs announcement came on the same day that Britain’s biggest car maker Jaguar Land Rover reported a record £3.6bn annual loss.

(c) Sky News 2019: Ford axing 7,000 jobs including hundreds in UK