"Ford of Europe must return to sustainable profitability as soon as possible. We will do whatever it takes to ensure the continuing viability of our business and further actions can be expected," Ford of Europe CEO John Fleming said in a statement, explaining that more cuts may be applied in the new future.
"Cutting capacity, reducing costs and safeguarding our future product plans are essential actions for Ford of Europe to sustain a viable business for the future," he added.
Ford announced earlier today that Fiesta is one of the most popular models in Europe and, despite deliveries reduced by 21.7 percent in the first two months of the year, the company is doing pretty well during economic recession times. However, more cost-cutting measures may be applied in the future, representatives of the company hinted.
"We considered all the options but decided the best approach in the present circumstances was to re-balance production across our plants in line with the market decline," Fleming added.
The Spanish production facility will still build the Fiesta small car but will also produce the next generation C-Max minivan expected to arrive in 2010. In addition, Ford's European plans in Cologne, Germany and Craiova, Romania will be mainly focused on producing a new low-emission small gasoline engine, with annual capacity estimated at about 350,000 units.
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