Ford plans to broaden its presence in the pickup segment and
to double its profits in CVs over the next five years in Europe through its partnership
with Volkswagen and its JVs in Turkey and Russia. The PV group will focus on European-built
cars and SUVs. Ford intends to more than triple passenger vehicle imports into
Europe annually by 2024 through its Imports group.
Ford is looking to expand its vehicle line-up in Europe by
rolling out at least three new nameplates in the next five years as it builds
its utility vehicle portfolio. Like its peers, Ford faces challenges of investing
in electric and autonomous vehicles while adhering to strict emissions
regulations in Europe.
The restructuring plan includes the closure or sale of six
assembly and manufacturing plants by the end of 2020 in locations such as
Wales, France, Russia and Slovakia. Through these actions, Ford’s European manufacturing
operations will be reduced to 18 facilities by the end of next year from 24 at
the start of 2019.
The company has also cut shifts at two of its plants in
Germany and Spain. These actions will affect around 12,000 jobs in total at
Ford’s European facilities and JVs by the end of 2020, mainly through voluntary
separation programs. Around 2,000 of these are salaried positions, included
among the 7,000 salaried positions Ford is reducing globally.
Ford’s shares were up 2.6% in mid-day trade on Thursday.