Ford Requests Urgent EV Incentives From UK Government After Announcing Layoffs

• Ford UK has urged the government to provide sales incentives for electric vehicles.
• The call comes after the automaker announced mass layoffs in the U.K. and Germany.
• Electric vehicle demand has seen a fierce decline across Europe and the U.S.

Ford UK has urgently called for the government to provide electric vehicle incentives for consumers following its announcement of thousands of layoffs.

The company, which claims to have invested millions in the development of electric vehicles, has been forced to reduce sales targets in Europe due to weak demand.

Ford Layoffs

Ford announced  in November that it would cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, primarily affecting workers in the U.K. and Germany.

The cuts amount to around 14% of the company’s regional operations. Ford said other countries in Europe would suffer “minimal reductions.”

Due to weak demand, the vehicle manufacturer has also had to lower sales estimates on its upcoming Explorer and Capri electric vehicles.

This follows the company pausing production on its F-150 Lightning truck until 2025 due to a lack of demand.

Germany’s IG Metall union has vehemently opposed the cuts, claiming they would mark “an incremental death” for the automaker, Reuters reported .

“We know the toolbox available in such a dispute and will not hesitate in giving the workforce the appropriate outlet for their anger,” David Luedtke, a union representative, said in a statement.

A Call For EV Incentives

In an interview  with the BBC, Ford’s U.K. managing director, Lisa Brankin, said that the only thing the industry needs is “government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles.”

The automaker industry has been butting heads with the government’s plans to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars over the next few years.

Labour has reaffirmed  its commitment to a complete 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel vehicle sales after the previous Conservative government delayed the scheme to 2035.

The U.K. has strict mandates for the percentage of electric vehicles sold compared to petrol and diesel.

Electric vehicles must make up at least 22% of a company’s total car sales and 10% of its van sales. Every vehicle sold outside these percentages will suffer a fine of £15,000 each.

In 2025, the U.K. is expected  to raise the mandate to 28% and 16% respectively.

An Industry-Wide Problem

The Ford layoffs reflect the difficulty being felt across the rest of the automaker industry, most of which is struggling to find an influx of customers needed for new electric vehicles.

In the U.S. and beyond, the demand for battery-powered vehicles  has seen a significant slowdown, leading to widespread layoffs.

Leading automakers, including Stellantis, General Motors, and Volkswagen, announced major layoffs last year.

Stellantis, the owner of Chrysler and Jeep, announced plans to cut around 4,000 factory jobs in the U.S.

The company also announced this week that it was closing a U.K. factory in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk, BBC reported .

Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, said the U.K.’s 2030 target to phase out petrol and diesel cars was a “jobs killer.”

Stellantis’s decision to close the factory in Luton was “the direct result of a government policy that is simply unworkable for industry,” he added.