Ford’s German Branch Is Facing a Strike Action Over Planned Cuts and Firings

We have written about the volatility of the auto market already and about the causes that led to a once stable market becoming a very volatile field, especially if you’re related to the United States, and if you make cars, you basically are.

The U.S. market is one of the biggest in the world, and with Trump’s tariffs potentially causing chaos, the auto industry is plagued with worries. It is unclear how things will evolve in the upcoming months and years, despite the fact that the recent U.S.-China agreement seemingly calmed things down.

And while Trump promised American manufacturers and foreign companies producing cars in the U.S. a tariff-free zone, these companies might be faced with other issues, as the recent example of Ford shows.

Namely, due to Trump’s tariffs and other financial reasons (decreased EV demand, fierce competition from China, etc.), Ford has made a plan to cut its employee numbers in the upcoming years. One of the biggest hits will be aimed at the company’s European facilities.

Namely, according to the plan revealed by the company, they are planning on axing 4,000 jobs in Europe by 2027, which is a significant number and would be a big hit not just for the German economy, where the company’s facilities are located, but also for a large number of families.

That is why the factory workers in Cologne, Germany, are planning an organized strike action on May 14, 2025, as has been confirmed, urging for a revision of the decision to cut such a large number of jobs in less than two years.

Unionization in Europe is much stronger than in the U.S., so such a major action will definitely have more impact on Ford’s European branch than it would in the U.S., where labor law is much more liberal when it comes to labor rights, giving employers much more freedom than in Europe.

This action is still very young, so it remains to be seen what it will result in, but we hope that it will result in positive movements for the employees in the future.

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