Ford is cutting hours for some German factory employees amid lower EV demand

The Ford plant in Cologne, western Germany.

Ford is cutting the work hours of about 2,300 workers at its manufacturing plant in Cologne, Germany, citing “rapidly deteriorating market conditions” for its electric vehicles.

“The significantly lower than expected demand for electric vehicles, specifically in Germany, requires a temporary adjustment of production volumes at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Centre,” Michael Baumann, Ford’s executive director of communications and public affairs in Europe, said in a statement to B-17.

Baumann said that the American carmaker plans to apply to the government to approve a temporary part-time work plan for its employees in Cologne.

Germany’s Kurzarbeit work program allows employers to reduce their employees’ work hours for a period of time instead of firing them. Under the program, the government pays the workers 60% of their original pay for the hours they don’t work.

Baumann added that in Ford’s case, their employees will not report for work during the Kurzarbeit period, which will take place non-consecutively for three weeks, from next week to the end of the year.

The carmaker has more than 4,000 employees at its Cologne plant, according to its website. It also has another plant in Saarlouis, southwestern Germany, which employs about 6,200 people. Baumann said that Ford has 16,500 employees in total in Germany.

Ford’s move in Germany has come as the EV industry faces a tumultuous stretch.

Several carmakers — Ford included — have doubled down on efforts to make hybrid cars. That strategy caters to a market demographic of shoppers who are looking for affordable and practical electric options and may prefer hybrid vehicles over pure EVs.

Ford in August announced that it would cancel plans for its already delayed electric three-row SUVs and delay production of its next electric pickup truck.

In August, its finance chief, John Lawler, told reporters that Ford planned to replace the axed electric SUVs with hybrid models. The company said the strategy pivot would initially cost nearly $2 billion.

On October 28, Ford reported third-quarter revenue of $46 billion and a net income of $900 million, which was down $300 million from the third quarter of 2023.

“We are in a strong position with Ford+ as our industry undergoes a sweeping transformation,” Ford’s president and CEO, Jim Farley, said in the company’s earnings report.

“We have made strategic decisions and taken the tough actions to create advantages for Ford versus the competition in key areas like Ford Pro, international operations, software, and next-generation electric vehicles,” he added.