Ford has announced it will be cutting 800 jobs in the UK over the next three years as part of a major restructuring plan.

The car manufacturer said that overall around 4,000 jobs across Europe would be axed, with its operations in Germany and the UK being particularly impacted.

It explained it had to act because of difficult trading conditions, including intense competition and weak demand for electric vehicles.

Lisa Brankin, managing director of Ford of Britain and Ireland, said: “Making this announcement isn’t something that anybody wants to do, and I appreciate it will have a very significant impact on our employees.

“It’s not the news anyone wants to hear at any time. So our aim is to try to deliver this through voluntary redundancy."

According to BBC News Ford has 5,300 employees in the UK and the restructuring plan will remove 15% of its workforce.

The majority of these losses are expected to be administrative or product development roles.

Where will Ford job cuts be made in the UK?

A number of Ford sites will be protected from the job cuts including its factories in Dagenham and Halewood and its transport operations division, which is based in Southampton.

However, six other sites across the UK could be affected, including a major research and development centre at Dunton in Essex, where it also has its UK headquarters, and a giant parts distribution centre in Daventry, BBC News reports.

This is the second round of cuts to hit Ford’s operations in Britain in less than two years.

In March 2023 it said 1,300 jobs were to go, a fifth of its workforce, most of them at the Dunton site.

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In addition to the cuts in the UK, Ford will be shedding 2,900 jobs in Germany and another 300 in the rest of Europe.

Dave Johnston, Ford’s European vice president for transformation and partnerships, said: “We are proud of our new product portfolio for Europe and committed to building a thriving business in Europe for generations to come.

“It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford’s future competitiveness in Europe.”