Craiova, April 6, 2017 – Ford Romania confirmed today that it has started the process of recruiting 976 people to support production of the new EcoSport small sports utility vehicle which is due to start later this fall.
Ford Romania is looking to hire basic and skilled operators to augment the current workforce of 2,715 employed in the vehicle and engine assembly operations.
“It is great to be announcing today that we are adding almost 1,000 new jobs at our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Craiova, bringing the total number of people employed here to more than 3,650,” said John Oldham, President of Ford Romania. “The new jobs go hand-in-hand with the transformation of our plant that we started last winter to support the production of the Ford EcoSport.”
The recruiting process for the 976 new jobs will be through Manpower’s Craiova office, where a dedicated team is coordinated by Ford Romania’s HR team.
“The selection process for the new people starts in April and will last until the end of July,” said Marina Babară, Ford Romania HR Director. “By August, we will be welcoming our new people to Ford and teaching them their roles in preparation for the launch of the EcoSport.”
Craiova Vehicle Assembly Operations is an important part of Ford’s manufacturing footprint in Europe, with as much as €200 million being invested to build the Ford EcoSport. The vehicle is currently sourced from Ford’s operations in India.
Significant upgrades have taken place in three key areas of Craiova’s vehicle operations, with 220 new robots to further improve efficiency and quality having already been installed in the Paint, Trim and Chassis, and Body shops.
Since acquiring the Craiova facility in 2008, Ford has invested more than €1.2 billion in its Romanian manufacturing operations. The Ford B-MAX multi-activity vehicle is currently built in Craiova, plus Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine – the only engine to win the International Engine of the Year award three years in succession.
Ford also continues to seek opportunities to build further products in Craiova so that it can fully utilize the facility’s capacity and asset utilization, while productive discussions with the Romanian Government are ongoing in regards to infrastructure and logistics improvements, in order to maintain the global competitiveness of the Ford Craiova manufacturing operations.
The Craiova-built EcoSport will be sold across Europe, excluding Russia, while Ford’s Chennai plant will continue to build the EcoSport for domestic Indian sales and for other export markets around the world.
In 2016, Ford’s SUV sales in Europe grew by more than 30 percent, while sales of the EcoSport increased by more than 40 percent and continue to grow in 2017.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 201,000 employees and 62 plants worldwide, the company’s core business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks and SUVs, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. To expand its business model, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities with investments in electrification, autonomy and mobility. Ford provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products and services, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 52,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 68,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 24 manufacturing facilities (16 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and 8 unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.
