00:00Ford has invested nearly 2 billion Euro in its Cologne plant in recent years, converting
00:06the production facility to solely manufacture electric vehicles.
00:11At the start of the initiative, Ford estimated that by now every third newly registered car
00:16would be electric.
00:18In reality, it's only 18 percent, according to Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority.
00:24Now the plant will only operate one shift per day instead of two starting in January.
00:29Since 1930, Ford has been building cars in Cologne and for a long time the global bestseller
00:34Fiesta was the plant's main product – a solid and affordable small car.
00:41But the electric Ford models currently in production – the Explorer and the Capri – have a price
00:46tag of over 40,000 Euro and aren't attracting enough buyers.
00:51Ford is producing stockpiles in Cologne, according to the Center of Automotive Management in North
00:56Rent-Westphalia.
00:58The planned one-shift operation in such a modern facility, designed for high capacity, is
01:03economically questionable, the Center says.
01:07Ford's priority is simply to limit losses.
01:10The automaker urgently needs more affordable models to succeed in the market, the Center
01:15argues, otherwise further job cuts are likely.
01:19It's clear, by 2027, about 7,600 employees are expected to remain here.
01:25A decade ago, around 20,000 people worked at the site.
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