Ford Motor says that it plans to cut 1,000 jobs from its electric vehicle factory in Cologne, Germany, as the carmaker faces lagging demand for EVs across Europe. 

According to The New York Times, the Cologne plant will move to single-shift operations starting in January 2026, reducing the workforce to approximately 7,600 employees, with the company planning to offer buyout packages to the facility's employees between now and then. As of November 2024, Ford's total workforce in Europe stood at 28,000, according to the Guardian. In its announcement of the job cuts from the Cologne factory on September 16, Ford blamed a lower-than-expected demand for EVs in Europe on a lack of government incentives to buy the vehicles, and limited investments in sufficient charging infrastructure.

The cuts will be in addition to another 4,000 jobs that Ford already plans to eliminate in Europe by the end of 2027. Ford has faced increased competition from Chinese EV maker BYD, which saw its European sales in the first seven months of 2025 jump by 251% year-over-year. Ford has also struggled in the wake of costly Trump administration tariffs, with the automaker reporting $36 million in losses in the second quarter of 2025, and expecting tariffs to cost it an estimated $2 billion by the end of the year.