Ford Romania to reduce workforce due to low demand - report

The 213 contracts represent roughly a third of all fixed-term contracts at Ford Craiova, according to a report in Gazeta de Sud.

At the end of April, Ford announced that its plant in Craiova would gradually resume production starting May 4.

Ford's factory in Romania was closed since mid-March through April due to the COVID-19 pandemic and employees were sent in technological unemployment.

At the beginning of February, before the first coronavirus cases were registered in Romania, Ford said it expects a record daily volume of production this year at its vehicle assembly plant in Craiova. Over 1,000 Puma and EcoSport compact SUVs will be assembled daily at the plant in southern Romania, meaning that a car will roll out every 67 seconds, Ford Romania said at the time.

Ford said earlier that it has invested over 1.5 billion euro ($1.68 billion) in its Craiova site since 2008 and has reached a total of 6,300 employees, working in both the vehicle assembly plant and the engine plant.

($ = 0.8913 euro)