Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s chief executive has estimated that manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) will require 40% fewer workers than building gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
As a result, the car maker will need to produce more parts in-house so “everyone has a role” in the transition, Jim Farley said.
He warned of “thunderclouds” in the next phase of the EV transition, with Ford having a goal of achieving half of global sales from EVs by 2030.
“It takes 40% less labour to make an electric car, so ... we need to insource so everyone has a part to play in that growth,” Farley said at a conference in Detroit focused on improving racial diversity in the auto industry.
“We need to embrace a whole new supply chain, in batteries, motors and electronics, and diversity needs to play an even bigger role in that,” Farley commented.
It is widely expected that the transition to EVs will reduce jobs in the auto industry as they are assembled from fewer parts compared to internal combustion engine cars.
Farley has been saying since July that Ford has “too many people”.
In August, 3,000 employees and contract workers were cut, with executives describing the company’s cost structure as “uncompetitive” compared to other automakers.
Ford had 183,000 employees at the end of 2021.