Ford announces big UK job losses

The company says it has been forced to act because of difficult trading conditions, including intense competition and weak demand for electric vehicles.

The cuts will not affect Ford’s manufacturing sites in Dagenham and Halewood, or its logistics base in Southampton. The company said it hoped to make the majority of job cuts through voluntary redundancy.

Lisa Brankin, managing director of Ford of Britain and Ireland, said: “Making this announcement isn’t something that anybody wants to do and I appreciate it will have a significant impact on our employees. It’s not the news anyone wants to hear at any time. So our aim is to try to deliver this through voluntary redundancy."

The majority of the job losses are expected to be administrative or product development roles. Ford has 5,300 employees in the UK. The company currently makes diesel engines for vans at its Dagenham factory in Essex. It builds gearboxes in Halewood and is in the final stages of creating a major new facility for producing motors for electric vehicles on the site.

Six other sites across the UK could be affected, including a major research and development centre at Dunton in Essex, where it also has its UK headquarters and a giant parts distribution centre in Daventry.

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