The hits to the electric vehicle (EV) market keep coming.
Now it is being reported that Ford Motor Co. will cut 4,000 jobs in Europe and the U.K. by the end of 2027, citing headwinds from the economy, pressure from increased competition, and weak EV car sales.
What is most interesting is that the company specifically calls out the ‘misalignment’ between Europe’s CO2 regulations and the consumer demand for EVs.
Ford said Wednesday most of the job cuts would come in Germany and would be carried out in consultation with employee representatives.Of the total, 2,900 jobs would be lost in Germany, 800 in Britain and 300 in other European Union countries. Ford has 28,000 employees in Europe, and 174,000 worldwide.“The global auto industry continues to be in a period of significant disruption as it shifts to electrified mobility,” the company said in a statement. “The transformation is particularly intense in Europe where automakers face significant competitive and economic headwinds while also tackling a misalignment between CO2 regulations and consumer demand for electrified vehicles,” the statement said.
The European technocrats really have indulged in their green-fever-dreams. Some sensible European leaders and automobile industry officials are tying desperately to wake everyone up to realities.
Ford’s downsizing comes after Parliament, in 2023, approved a stricter green energy target of zero CO2 emissions for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles by 2035. The EU set an emissions reduction target of 55% for cars and 50% for vans by 2030.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently criticized the EU’s standards, saying in September that “the ban on endothermic engine (cars) from 2035 is one of the most obvious example of a self-destructive approach.”The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) also suggested the industry is still missing crucial infrastructure necessary in reaching the zero-emission standard for vehicles.”The zero-emission transition is highly challenging, with concerns about meeting the 2025 CO2 emission reduction targets for cars and vans on the rise,” the ACEA wrote in a September press release.The group also predicted potential job losses could result from a push toward EVs.
Legal Insurrection also reported in October that BMW’s CEO Oliver Zipse asserts that Europe’s 2035 ban on internal combustion engines (ICE) is unrealistic and could increase reliance on Chinese batteries.
Meanwhile, in this country, President-Elect Donald Trump plans to restore the normal market forces to the automotive market. Trump plans to eliminate the $7,500 federal tax credit for EV purchases, which many analysts believe would significantly hinder EV sales and competitiveness against gasoline-powered vehicles.
The credit granted to buyers of EVs helped make the case for buying the climate-friendlier vehicles, and when an earlier version of the tax credit was done away with several years ago, Tesla cut prices on its cars by about half of the credit its buyers were no longer receiving.Tesla is the sole automaker to be generating a profit on its U.S. sales. Manufacturing EVs is a losing proposition for Big Three vehicle makers like Ford and General Motors, who sell a fraction of EVs compared with Tesla.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY