Ford looks to reduce European production

Ford is looking to cut jobs and production at European factories to right size the brand for declining demand.

The US manufacturer is offering voluntary redundancy packages for staff in Germany and other parts of Europe. It is also looking to cut down on “agency workers and purchased service”.

Ford will not confirm exact job cut numbers and has not revealed if its UK plants in Southampton and Dagenham with a combined staff of 15,000 will be affected.

The move reflects industry of a danger of oversupply with unsold new car forced into the UK market, which will also send used car values tumbling.