Ford set to axe 800 British jobs – blaming slow electric vehicle sales

FORD announced plans yesterday to axe 800 British jobs — conscionable minutes earlier sending 1 of its bosses to situation talks with the Government implicit electrical car targets.

The car giant blamed weaker request for electric vehicles for its decision to slash 4,000 jobs crossed Europe.

The hefty redundancies volition see 2,900 roles successful Germany, with the UK cull falling connected admin and enactment unit successful Dunton, Daventry and Stratford.

Ford employs 6,500 successful the UK but insiders said its manufacturing sites successful Dagenham and Halewood would beryllium unaffected.

However, an enforcement said “further steps” mightiness beryllium required if problems were not addressed.

Ford said the job cuts were caused by deficiency of authorities enactment and incentives to promote drivers to power to electrical vehicles.

Chinese rivals, specified arsenic BYD, could besides flood the marketplace with inexpensive EVs.

Car makers look fiscal penalties if little than 28 per cent of its income are electrical by adjacent year.

Ford main fiscal serviceman John Lawler said: “What we deficiency successful Europe and Germany is simply a wide argumentation to beforehand e- mobility, specified arsenic investments successful charging infrastructure.”

Car makers including Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and Vauxhall proprietor Stellantis had a round-table with ministers astir the 2030 mandate for each caller car income to beryllium electrical to conscionable CO2 targets.

Firms judge the purpose is unrealistic and Stellantis has adjacent warned astir pulling retired of UK production.

No10 said: “The UK’s automotive manufacture employs implicit 150,000 radical and has a large relation to play successful our ngo to turn the economy.

“We’ve already backed the assemblage with implicit £300million to thrust uptake of electrical vehicles.”

It is understood the firms are lobbying the Government to see plug-in hybrids successful the 2030 target.

Nissan’s Guillaume Cartier said existent policies could undermine the lawsuit for making cars successful the UK and the viability of thousands of jobs and billions of investment.

He added: “We request to spot urgent enactment from the Government by the extremity of the twelvemonth to debar a perchance irreversible interaction connected the UK automotive sector.”

Budget sleighs shops

THE brag of Lidl has warned that nutrient prices volition person to emergence aft Rachel Reeves’ Budget taxation raid.

Chief enforcement Ryan McDonnell said the discount supermarket concatenation was facing “tens of millions of pounds” successful other costs aft the Chancellor hiked employers’ National Insurance contributions.

Mr McDonnell told The Sun: “We are talking astir £7billion for the full industry. For america it volition beryllium tens of millions. With each that outgo determination volition beryllium inflationary pressure.”

His comments came arsenic Lidl toasted its presumption arsenic the fastest-growing supermarket, with gross rising 16.9 per cent to astir £11billion.

It has besides swung backmost into the achromatic with pre-tax profits of £43.5million and plans to unfastened 18 caller stores successful months.

£5M indebtedness firms-up Summers

ANN SUMMERS’ household owners person thrown the loss-making sex artifact and lingerie retailer a multi- cardinal lb lifeline.

The big concatenation has taken a £5million indebtedness from Green Street Holdings, which is controlled by the Gold family, led by chairwoman Vanessa Gold.

She was appointed to the relation past twelvemonth aft the decease of her sister, Ann Summers laminitis Jacqueline Gold.

The backing came arsenic Ann Summers announced pre-tax losses of £3.8million successful the twelvemonth to July 1, 2023.

The steadfast besides said yesterday it had made redundancies among its much than 1,000 employees.

It is understood up to 30 unit were hit, chiefly successful caput bureau roles.

Chief exec Maria Hollins said: “We person ambitious plans for maturation but person had to trim costs by making a tiny fig redundant. This was not a determination we took lightly.”

£14.5M E.On hit

ENERGY supplier E.On Next has been told to wage £14.5million successful compensation to astir 250,000 prepayment customers aft billing errors.

They volition person an mean £144 each aft E.On failed to process last bills.

Regulator Ofgem called it unacceptable and said 100,000 of the “often vulnerable” customers were successful credit, but unaware, arsenic they didn’t person a last bill.

E.On Next apologised and volition besides constitute disconnected the indebtedness of astir 150,000 who unopen accounts betwixt February 2021 and September 2023.

£295M 'PPI' plot

SANTANDER has enactment speech £295million for the imaginable fallout from the centrifugal concern scandal.

The slope delayed its results past period aft a tribunal ruled that it was amerciable for lenders to wage committee to car dealerships without informing drivers.

The ungraded has been compared to the £50billion PPI debacle, with Moody's analysts saying banks could beryllium connected the hook for £30billion.

Santander besides plans to chopped much than 1,400 jobs crossed the UK this twelvemonth aft income from mortgages slumped.