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Nearly half of Ford’s European job cuts will be in Germany

US carmaker Ford said Thursday that it plans to slash a total of 12,000 jobs across Europe as part of a previously-announced restructuring.

Nearly half of Ford's European job cuts will be in Germany
An employee at the Ford plant in Cologne. Photo: DPA

That means nearly half – 5,400 – of the planned job cuts by the car manufacturer are in Germany.

Ford builds a large proportion of its cars for Europe in Germany where it employs around 24,000 people. At its headquarters in Cologne around 18,000 people are employed.

The firm said it plans to close or sell six plants in Britain, France, Russia and Slovakia in 2019 and 2020.

“Ford's manufacturing footprint in Europe will be reduced to a proposed 17 facilities by the end of 2020, from 24 at the beginning of 2019,” the group said. A total of 1,700 jobs are being slashed in Wales.

The announcement on Thursday is the first time Ford has publicly stated the jobs impact of its plans.

READ ALSO: Ford to slash over 5,000 jobs in Germany

'First step towards sale'

The move has raised concerns over the future of Ford in Europe.

“This could be the first step towards a complete or partial sale” of Ford's car business in Europe, industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of the University of Duisburg-Essen's CAR institute said.

The job cuts will come “primarily through voluntary separation programmes”, said Ford, which employs around 51,000 people and operates 24 factories around Europe.

As well as the factory closure in Wales, three sites in Russia, one in Slovakia and one in France will be shuttered.

Group chief executive Jim Hackett announced last autumn a massive restructuring of the American firm, aiming to save $11 billion and turn Ford into a more “agile” group with faster decision-making processes.

The company aims to catch up with the world leaders in the industry's transformation towards autonomous and electric-powered driving, as well as services like car-sharing and ride-sharing.

Ford says that “financial results in Europe are on track to significantly improve for full year 2019”, adding that in future it will refocus on electric mobility.

Its European operations will be reorganized into three divisions: commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, and imports.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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