Ford will cut thousands of jobs as it eyes transition to electric vehicles
Losses could come in newly created ‘Ford Blue’ unit, report says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ford will cut 8,000 jobs in in the coming weeks in a bid to reduce costs and bolster investment in electric vehicles, a report has said.
The Detroit-based company has not confirmed the cuts, which were first revealed on Wednesday by Bloomberg, and could still change.
According to the report, about 8,000 jobs could be cut from the newly created Ford Blue unit working on the company’s internal combustion engine operations.
Cuts, which could begin before the end of the summer, will also reportedly occur in other areas of the motor business and among salaried employees.
Ford will reportedly use the savings to invest further in electric vehicles, aiming to produce more than 2 million a year by 2026. The company is expected to tell its investors of its plans on Thursday.
TR Red, a spokesperson for Ford, said in a statement to Reuters that the company was committed to “reshaping our work and modernising our organisation”, but would not confirm the cuts.
“We remain focused on reshaping our work and modernising our organization across all automotive business units and across the company,” Mr Reid said. “As part of this, we have laid out clear targets to lower our cost structure to ensure we are lean and fully competitive with the best in the industry”.
Ford’s chief executive officer Jim Farley said earlier this year the company needed to find $50bn in profits from the sale of diesel engine vehicles – and via the innovation of the Ford Blue unit – to fund further investment in electric vehicles, of which only 27,140 were sold by Ford in the US last year.
In July, Ford reported selling 76.6 per cent more electric vehicles than a year ago with 4,353 units sold in June alone, according motor news site CBT News.
So far this year, electric vehicle sales in the US have been twice the amount of last year, but as The New York Times reported last week, the figure is still only around five per cent of the overall sales market.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments