In November 2014, the company decided to implement a voluntary layoff program targeting around 680 employees, in order to ensure competiveness and control over operating costs.
“While B-Max remains one of the best-selling car models on the B-MAV segment, Europe’s auto market is still ailing. Therefore, the plant in Craiova had to halt its production this year for a considerable number of days,” said Ford Romania spokesperson Ana-Maria Timis in November.
Timis added that, in order to ensure the plant’s competitiveness and keep a tight grip on operating costs, it is necessary to take additional measures aimed at adjusting production volumes to the current market demand, which entail, among others, workforce reduction.
Ford makes the B-Max car model and EcoBoost engines in Craiova. B-Max assembly started mid-2012 and the car, made exclusively in Craiova, is sold only in Europe.
Ford has halted its B-Max production for around 40 days in 2014, after a halt totaling 35 days in 2013.