Ford to cut 7,000 jobs by August to cope changing auto industry landscape
Arirang News
2019-05-23
Views 15
포드 7000명 감원...글로벌 자동차업계 '미래차'발 구조조정
Global automakers are pushing for massive restructuring... The latest layoff of workers comes from Ford Motor Company, which plans to reduce 10 percent of its labor force by the end of August.
Kim Hyesung reports on why and what this means.
Ford announced plans Monday to cut 7-thousand white-collar jobs, 10 percent of its global workforce, by the end of August.
And Ford is not alone.
In the past six months, a number of global automakers including Volkwagen and General Motors have unveiled plans to downsize.
"Global car demand is falling amid slowing global economic growth. An increase in car-sharing services is also changing the auto industry landscape. Emission restrictions are stricter...To cope with falling sales and invest in new technologies to develop electric cars and driverless cars, automakers are cutting their laborforce to generate cash to spend on innovation."
In a memo to employees Monday, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said slashing the white-collar positions will save the company about 600 million U.S. dollars a year, and help Ford focus on new product development like smart cars and new technologies.
Volkwagen has also vowed to cut 7-thousand workers by 2023 to accelerate its transition into electric cars.
General Motors said it will use the saved costs of around six billion dollars a year from the cut of 14-thousand jobs to focus on future cars.
"Electric cars and autonomous cars require fewer auto parts than fossil fuel cars, and automation in factories mean fewer workers are needed. But it's not clear if the shift to future cars will drive down overall jobs because it does create new jobs in infotainment car services and other areas."
To keep up with the changes in the market, Korean automakers including Hyundai Motor, are also investing in future cars by cooperating with startups and university research centers.
The government also vowed to increase the number of electric vehicles and hydrogen cars to 10 percent of total auto production in the country by 2022.
It's unclear if the number of overall car related jobs will decrease in the future, but being proactive to save costs and invest in future cars is now becoming the new normal in the auto industry.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
Global automakers are pushing for massive restructuring... The latest layoff of workers comes from Ford Motor Company, which plans to reduce 10 percent of its labor force by the end of August.
Kim Hyesung reports on why and what this means.
Ford announced plans Monday to cut 7-thousand white-collar jobs, 10 percent of its global workforce, by the end of August.
And Ford is not alone.
In the past six months, a number of global automakers including Volkwagen and General Motors have unveiled plans to downsize.
"Global car demand is falling amid slowing global economic growth. An increase in car-sharing services is also changing the auto industry landscape. Emission restrictions are stricter...To cope with falling sales and invest in new technologies to develop electric cars and driverless cars, automakers are cutting their laborforce to generate cash to spend on innovation."
In a memo to employees Monday, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said slashing the white-collar positions will save the company about 600 million U.S. dollars a year, and help Ford focus on new product development like smart cars and new technologies.
Volkwagen has also vowed to cut 7-thousand workers by 2023 to accelerate its transition into electric cars.
General Motors said it will use the saved costs of around six billion dollars a year from the cut of 14-thousand jobs to focus on future cars.
"Electric cars and autonomous cars require fewer auto parts than fossil fuel cars, and automation in factories mean fewer workers are needed. But it's not clear if the shift to future cars will drive down overall jobs because it does create new jobs in infotainment car services and other areas."
To keep up with the changes in the market, Korean automakers including Hyundai Motor, are also investing in future cars by cooperating with startups and university research centers.
The government also vowed to increase the number of electric vehicles and hydrogen cars to 10 percent of total auto production in the country by 2022.
It's unclear if the number of overall car related jobs will decrease in the future, but being proactive to save costs and invest in future cars is now becoming the new normal in the auto industry.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
Report form
