Ford Motor Co. will cut as many as 550 jobs in the U.K. as part of a revamp announced in January of its loss-making European business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The U.S. vehicle manufacturer, which has said it’ll reduce its German workforce by 5,000 positions, will cut jobs in its salaried non-manufacturing areas in the U.K., the person said. The move was reported earlier by London’s City AM newspaper.
“The total number of positions impacted in the U.K. is still to be determined,” Ford said in an emailed statement. The company has offered voluntary separation packages to employees in Germany and the U.K. “to help accelerate the plan and return to sustainable profitability.”
Ford said in January it would overhaul its loss-making European business and cut thousands of jobs across the region, where it employs about 54,000 workers. The U.S. car giant specified its plans for Germany and for Russia, where three factories will close, in March, after announcing last year it would stop making transmissions at a plant in Bordeaux, France.
In the U.K., Ford’s Bridgend plant in Wales will lose 350 to 400 jobs as part of a previously announced plan, while the company said in November it would merge its U.K. offices. Ford has also warned that a no-exit departure from European Union would be a disaster for the company and the auto industry in the U.K.
By Lucca de Paoli
