Ford Motor Co. is cutting two-thirds of jobs at one of its electric vehicle (EV) plants as demand for the product slows, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Only 700 of the 2,100 autoworkers at Ford’s Rogue EV Center in Dearborn, Michigan, will remain at the plant, with 700 of the workers being transferred to a plant in Wayne, Michigan, to build Bronco and Ranger Ford models, while the other 700 are being offered reassignment or a retirement package, according to a Ford spokeswoman who spoke to the Detroit Free Press. Stellantis announced last week that it would be laying off around 400 of its white-collar employees who work in engineering, technology and software due to the slowdown of EV sales compared to the volume being produced. (RELATED: California’s Economic Woes Are Way Worse Than We Thought)
The retirement packages being offered include a payout of $50,000 that was negotiated during contract talks with the United Auto Workers, who went on strike near the end of 2023, according to the Detroit Free Press. If those workers wanted to maintain their jobs at Ford, they would have to be reassigned to a plant in southeast Michigan.
The shift in workers is in contrast to a year ago, when the automaker announced that it would be hiring more workers in an attempt to boost production of its EV Lighting model that is produced at the Dearborn plant, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Stellantis To Lay Off Hundreds Of Employees As It Struggles To Transition To Electric Vehicles https://t.co/1OIPyVFZNo
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Despite numerous government assistance programs and incentives to the EV industry, such as the $7,700 tax credit per vehicle, manufacturers have so far failed to accelerate the rate of EV adoption to match the increase in production volume, as high prices and other concerns have scared away consumers. The Biden administration has resorted to delaying strict emission regulations that would lead to most new vehicles being electric going into the next decade, but keeping the final goal to the same time frame, to appease the auto industry and auto union workers who fear the changes would hurt operations.
Ford lost $4.7 billion on EVs in 2023, more than the $4.5 billion that it projected it was going to lose mid-year, pointing to an extremely competitive pricing environment. Ford lost nearly $65,000 on each EV that it sold in the year, selling around 72,608, and has projected that it will lose between $5 billion and $5.5 billion on EVs in 2024.
Another U.S. automaker giant, General Motors, has also backed off of its EV production, announcing in October of last year that it would be reducing its goal of producing 400,000 EVs in North America by the middle of 2024. In its fourth quarter earnings, GM reported a $1.7 billion loss in the production and sale of its EV line, even as other sources of income kept the company profitable.
Ford did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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