Ford and IG Metall agree on a scale down 3,500 jobs cut at Saarlouis factory amid shift to electric

The plans for layoffs at Ford have been rumored for a while. Concrete decisions have now been reached following agreements with the trade unions. Both Ford and IG Metall have agreed to scale down employment at Saarlouis. An estimated 3,500 employees will be affected by the cuts.

As mentioned by "Reuters," the primary reason for this move is the impending halt of Focus production - the only model currently being manufactured at the German plants. These facilities have faced an uncertain future ever since 2022, when Ford announced that the Focus model would be phased out. In its place, an electric model built on a brand-new platform, to be produced in Spain, is set to be introduced.

IG Metall has predicted that post-2025, there will be around 1,000 employees still working in Saarlouis. The layoffs will occur in voluntary departures, early retirements, and substantial redundancy payments.

"We were unable to find an optimal solution, which led us to resort to the second-best option: to ensure the job reduction process is as expensive as possible for Ford," said Joerg Koehlinger, the regional director of IG Metall Mitte, on Wednesday.

The future of Saarlouis remains uncertain. Amongst the companies expressing an interest in Ford's plants is the Chinese company, BYD. However, definitive decisions have yet to be made.