No jobs will be cut at its plant in Valencia for now, a Ford Spain spokesperson said, although the automaker has long said there will be some restructuring of its workforce as electric cars require fewer labor hours to assemble.
Both UGT union and Spain’s Industry Ministry played down the investment delay, noting that it does not affect Ford’s plan to produce EVs in Spain.
“The Spanish government maintains its commitment to support Ford in its current and future investments in Spain,” the Industry Ministry said in a statement.
Ford had applied in May for Spain’s EU pandemic relief funds and had been allocated 106 million euros in a first provisional allotment but withdrew its application on Tuesday ahead of a deadline for potential changes, the Ministry said.
The company picked the Valencia plant over its factory in Saarloius, Germany, for its latest EV investment.
Ford said in June it has no plans to replace production of the Focus compact car at Saarlouis in 2025.
Instead, the automaker said it will seek “alternative opportunities” for the Saarlouis factory, including selling it to another automaker.
Ford plans to launch seven full-electric vehicles in Europe including three new full-electric passenger cars and four new electric vans.
The first new EV will be a midsize crossover that will go into production at Ford’s factory in Cologne, Germany, this year. It will use Volkswagen Group’s MEB electric platform that underpins the VW ID4, among other VW Group models.
Ford will build an electric version of the Puma crossover in Craiova, Romania, along with Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier electric vans.