US carmaker Ford to cut 1,000 jobs at German plant in Cologne

US carmaker Ford is set to axe 1,000 jobs at its plant in Cologne in early 2026, the firm said on Tuesday, citing weak demand for electric vehicles.

Production in the western German city will switch from two-shift operation to single-shift operation from January, Ford said, less than a year after announcing plans to implement widespread cost-cutting measures at the location.

As per the plans proposed in 2024, 2,900 jobs are to be cut by the end of 2027 – about one in four at Ford Cologne.

Employees who leave voluntarily can expect fairly high severance payments. If their jobs are relocated because the division is being sold and continued by another company, they will not be worse off.

This led workers at Ford's facilities in Cologne to stage a historic first strike in May, bringing production largely to a standstill as they pushed back against the planned job cuts.

The walk-out was the first to take place in almost 100 years of operation since 1930 in Cologne.

It was only some two weeks ago that the workforce in Cologne paved the way for the planned austerity measures, with some 93.5% of the workers backing a compromise agreed upon by the IG Metall trade union and management in July.

However, Tuesday's announcement will raise the planned number of cuts by up to 1,000, with the exact number yet to be determined in talks with workforce representatives, according to the carmaker.