Ford faces backlash from IG Metall for job cuts

Ford is facing backlash from German union IG Metall for its plans to cut thousands of jobs in Cologne. 

The US automaker has restructuring plans in the production site in Cologne. On November 20, Ford announced it would cut about 14% of its European workforce. It cited weak demand for electric vehicles (EVs), poor government support, and competition from Chinese companies for the job cuts.

Ford’s Cologne factory has been experiencing job cuts for the last two years. In January 2023, Ford announced plans to cut 3,200 jobs in Europe, mainly in Germany. At the time, IG Metall spoke out against Ford’s job cuts in its Cologne facility.

Now, IG Metall argues that Ford’s job cuts would be the end of its Cologne factory. 

“In our view, this would be an incremental death,” IG representative Kerstin Klein told Reuters. 

“We know the toolbox available in such a dispute and will not hesitate in giving the workforce the appropriate outlet for their anger,” commented a workforce representative David Luedtke. 

Ford estimated that around 4,000 jobs will be cut in Germany and Britain, representing 2.3% of its total workforce of 174,000 in Europe.

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Ford faces backlash from IG Metall for job cuts