Ford to axe 800 jobs across UK as bosses announce major restructure

Hundreds of UK jobs at Ford are set to be cut over the next three years as part of new cost-cutting plans. The car manufacturer is set to undertake a major restructuring programme, which will see 4,000 jobs axed across Europe.

Most of the job losses will affect workers in Germany and the UK. Ford currently employs 5,300 people in the UK.

Its manufacturing sites in Dagenham and Halewood and its logistics base in Southampton will be unaffected by the move, the Mirror reports. It's currently unclear whether plants in the Midlands will be impacted.

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The company said it hoped the majority of job cuts would come from voluntary redundancies. 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 very 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."

Dave Johnston, Ford's European vice president for transformation and partnerships, added: “Ford has been in Europe for more than 100 years. We are proud of our new product portfolio for Europe and committed to building a thriving business in Europe for generations to come.

"It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford's future competitiveness in Europe.”