Ford Motor Co To Cut 1,100 Jobs In Spain After Other European Layoffs

Ford Motor Co. announced Friday that it will cut around 1,100 jobs at its plant in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia.

The cuts are in addition to the 2,300 layoffs largely in Germany and the U.K. that the automaker announced last month as part of a leaner, more competitive cost structure in Europe.

Ford Spain said in a statement that it notified unions on Friday of what it said was a profound restructuring of its operations, which comes even as Ford champions the Valencia plant as its preferred site to assemble next-generation electric vehicles on the continent.

The plant is Ford's only such facility in Spain and employed 5,400 people.

Ford has said its strategy to offer an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035 has not changed and that production of its first European-built electric car is due to start later this year.

The cuts were mainly due to the already announced discontinuing production of the S-Max and Galaxy models in April 2023, Ford Spain said in an email.

In January, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company announced a new solar power plant had opened at the Valencia facility as it looks to become a carbon-neutral business.

The job cuts come amid a sea change in the global auto industry from gas-guzzling combustion engines to electric vehicles. Governments are pushing to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change, and a resulting race to develop electric vehicles has generated intense competition among automakers.

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