Ford Shrinks Capacity 18% in Europe

Ford Motor Co. says it will shut down three plants in Europe, shrinking its production capacity in the region by 355,000 units or 18% (excluding Russia) and eliminating 5,700 jobs.

Ford announced earlier this week it plans to close its assembly plant in Genk, Belgium, by the end of 2014, shedding 4,300 jobs.

On Thursday the company confirmed it will shutter its Transit chassis-cab plant in Southampton, England, next year and transfer that work to Ford's joint-venture factory in Kocaeli, Turkey. The company also will end stamping and tooling operations in Dagenham, England, in 2013.

The two cuts in England will eliminate 1,400 positions. Ford says it expects to redeploy at least some of those workers to other facilities.

Dagenham will continue to be a major center for powertrain development and production, according to the company. It notes that the Ford technical center in Dunton, England, is developing a 2.0-liter diesel that will go into in production at Dagenham in 2016.

The company has already trimmed 500 salaried jobs in Europe through a voluntary retirement program.

Ford's sales in Europe have dropped 12% this year, and the company warns that its operations in the region will lose more than $1.5 billion this year. It says closing the three plants will save between $450 million and $500 million per year.