Ford reduces working hours at German electric car manufacturing site

US vehicle manufacturer Ford is implementing a reduced work regime in the western German city of Cologne due to weak demand for electric cars.

"The significantly lower than expected demand for electric vehicles, specifically in Germany, requires a temporary adjustment of production volumes at the Cologne Electric Vehicle Centre," a Ford spokeswoman stated.

The company will apply for short-time work, a government furlough scheme, whereby workers are sent home by a company in financial distress, but do not lose their jobs, with he government usually paying a percentage of their salary.

The short-time work application to the Federal Employment Agency was due to rapidly deteriorating market conditions for electric vehicles, the spokeswoman said.

Ford has applied for short-time work for a total of three weeks. In the Cologne plant, the electric models Explorer and Capri are produced.

"We are producing more than we can sell," the local Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper quoted the company as saying in an internal memo.

Like the entire automotive industry, Ford is struggling with weak sales in Germany and Europe. Consumer reluctance to switch to electric cars and the end of government incentives in Germany are proving challenging for carmakers.

Over the past few years at the Cologne site, Ford has already cut thousands of jobs. In 2018, the carmaker had nearly 20,000 employees in the city; By this summer, there were only about 13,000 remaining.