Ford agrees voluntary redundancies for troubled e-car site in Cologne
By Rachel More
BERLIN (Reuters) -Ford has agreed to a job protection scheme at its Cologne plant covering over 10,000 workers, with voluntary redundancies planned in response to the sluggish uptake of electric cars, the company and German employee representatives said on Friday.
Ford has been undergoing a painful restructuring in Europe, with cuts in Cologne and the upcoming closure of its Saarlouis plant dealing a fresh blow to Germany’s prestige as a carmaking hub.
Ford said in a statement that the framework, valid through 2032, includes 2,900 job cuts announced by the company in November last year.
"The job cuts are primarily based on voluntary redundancies. The severance payments are generous and significantly better than usual in the automotive industry," works council head Benjamin Gruschka said in a statement.
The IG Metall union said the future of Cologne production remained unclear but welcomed the "safety net."
Ford, which invested $2 billion in transforming its Cologne site into an EV production hub, has called on the German government to provide more incentives and better charging infrastructure to help drivers transition to electric.
The deal is still to be approved in a workers’ ballot.
With valuations skyrocketing in 2024, many investors are uneasy putting more money into stocks. Sure, there are always opportunities in the stock market – but finding them feels more difficult now than a year ago. Unsure where to invest next? One of the best ways to discover new high-potential opportunities is to look at the top performing portfolios this year. ProPicks AI offers 6 model portfolios from Investing.com which identify the best stocks for investors to buy right now. For example, ProPicks AI found 9 overlooked stocks that jumped over 25% this year alone. The new stocks that made the monthly cut could yield enormous returns in the coming years. Is F one of them?
