Ford’s retrenchments reflect broader challenges and uncertainty in SA's automotive sector

The news came through trade union channels first, as these things usually do. Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa plans to cut more than 470 jobs at two plants in the country — 391 operator positions at the Ford Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, 73 at the Struandale Engine Plant in Gqeberha, and 10 administrative roles scattered across both facilities.

These are, for families like mine, the gradual erosion of a legacy that stretches back decades, to when Ford wasn’t just a job but a way of life.

My late father spent his entire working career with Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, following the company’s journey from its Leyland roots in Cape Town to help establish what would become one of Africa’s most sophisticated automotive operations. He worked alongside people like Ockert Berry — now VP of operations — in building the very production lines that are now being “optimised” through workforce reductions.

A perfect storm

The latest workforce reduction is the collision of three powerful forces that together create what the company calls a “calculated and preemptive strategic realignment” — corporate speak for cutting your way out of trouble before the trouble gets worse.

There was the R21-billion investment over the past five years in automation and advanced manufacturing that has fundamentally altered labour requirements. When you spend more than a billion dollars on robots and automated systems, you inevitably need fewer human hands on the production line. This is the “productivity dividend” that modern manufacturing demands — capital substituting for labour to remain globally competitive.

Then came ArcelorMittal South Africa’s closure of its long steel production facilities. As the sole domestic supplier of certain specialised steel grades, Amsa’s closure fractured Ford’s supply chain overnight. The company now faces steel cost increases of up to 25% due to import logistics, shipping costs and foreign exchange volatility. When your raw material costs spike by a quarter, cutting the wage bill becomes a direct survival mechanism.

And don’t forget about the systemic risk posed by US tariffs on South African automotive exports. The local arm of Ford’s global manufacturing corpus shares component suppliers with other manufacturers that depend heavily on US customers. Those suppliers are haemorrhaging business — South African vehicle shipments to the US collapsed by 82% in the first half of 2025. If shared suppliers fail, Ford’s production lines could grind to a halt.

Success at a cost

The irony is that Ford’s South African operations represent one of the company’s global success stories. The Silverton plant is the only facility worldwide manufacturing the Ranger Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, positioning South Africa at the forefront of Ford’s electrification strategy. The operation exports to more than 100 markets and has become one of Ford’s five global manufacturing hubs for the Ranger.

Read more: Ford’s bet on Silverton plug-in hybrids 

It’s a product of massive, sustained investment and the kind of long-term commitment that my father’s generation helped build. Ford didn’t just set up shop in South Africa; it put down roots, creating what Berry described to Daily Maverick earlier this year as a facility that aims to be “the best Ranger plant in the world”.

But even success stories aren’t immune to economic reality. The broader South African automotive sector has shed 4,000 jobs and seen 12 companies close in the past two years. Ford’s preemptive cuts are designed to build financial resilience before the next wave of industry turbulence hits.

Strategic realignment 

Behind every “strategic realignment” are real people whose lives are about to change dramatically. Ford has committed to offering voluntary separation packages and consulting with unions, but that’s cold comfort for families facing an uncertain future.

And, just days before Ford announced its job cuts, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) celebrated signing an above-inflation wage agreement covering more than 300,000 workers in the motor sector through the Motor Industries Bargaining Council. The three-year deal, running from September 2025 to August 2028, secured 6% increases in the first year for component manufacturers — the very sector in which Ford now plans to shed jobs.

Numsa’s victory included breakthrough benefits like primary healthcare for garage workers and improved sick leave provisions. Union General Secretary Irvin Jim proclaimed that “Numsa continues to be a sword and a spear for workers ensuring that their lives improve with each wage deal that we sign” in the official announcement. Within days, that sword would be blunted by Ford’s retrenchment announcements.

Read more: With Agoa uncertain, SA faces biggest trade test 

The automotive industry in South Africa employs hundreds of thousands of people directly and indirectly. When Berry warned my colleague Yeshiel Panchia that the African Growth and Opportunity Act’s (Agoa’s) potential termination posed “existential” threats to entire value chains, he was talking about operators who “earn as much as school teachers and support many people”. Lose those jobs, he said, “and you devastate families”.

South Africa’s automotive sector thrived under preferential trade agreements and government incentives, but it remained vulnerable to external shocks. The domestic steel crisis, US trade policy changes, and broader economic instability have converged to create conditions in which even successful companies must cut jobs to survive — sometimes in the same week that workers celebrate wage victories.

A speed bump on the road to progress

Ford’s South African story isn’t over. The company continues to invest — its most recent R5.2-billion commitment to electrification proves it is not retreating. But the latest job cuts reveal how precarious even successful industrial operations can be in an interconnected global economy.

My father lived through previous cycles of expansion and contraction, investment and retrenchment. What sustained him was the belief that Ford was building something lasting in South Africa, something worth preserving through good times and bad. That belief is being tested now. 

For now, the production lines keep running, the Ranger Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles keep rolling off to global markets, and Berry continues making the case to Ford’s global leadership that South Africa deserves continued investment. But industrial success stories can turn into cautionary tales faster than anyone expects — especially when the economic headwinds are this strong. DM