The car company Ford will cut more than 2,000 jobs at the German locations in Cologne and Aachen. The Cologne development department is particularly affected – despite investments.

The carmaker wants to part with 1,700 developers, plus 600 employees in administrative areas, the marketing department and sales.

Job cuts announced in January
Ford employs a total of 19,000 people in Germany. Around 14,000 of these people currently work in Cologne and around 200 in the Aachen research center. The works council had already made the project public in January and at the time even feared the loss of up to 3,200 jobs in Cologne and Aachen.

The Cologne workforce does not want to give up without a fight:

Jobs are also being cut in Great Britain, and Ford wants to reduce its workforce in Europe by 3,800 men and women. On the way to electromobility, around 4,000 employees in Europe are expected to lose their jobs by 2025.

Ford switched to electric cars too late
The group missed its profit targets last year and wants to undergo a radical cure. CFO John Lawler had announced “very aggressive” measures at the balance sheet presentation to reduce costs in production and in the supply chain. In Europe, fourth-quarter pre-tax losses widened to $400 million, double the year-ago figure on flat sales.

The car company only switched to an electric course relatively late. This year, the first Ford electric cars manufactured in Europe are scheduled to roll off the production line in Cologne, while the combustion model Fiesta will be discontinued.

Ford is investing billions in electric production in Cologne, but with the plans that have now been made public, the cathedral city is losing importance as a Ford development location.