FORD last night announced it plans to cut “several hundred jobs” in Europe after falling sales.

But the company, which has a plant in Eastleigh which builds the world renowned Transit van, said it had not decided where and how many job it will axe.

The US car maker, which employs 12,000 people in the UK and also has plants in Halewood and Dagenham, said the details won’t be known for “a few months.”

It plans to seek voluntary redundancies and will reduce spending on agency workers.

Ford is conducting three job cutting programmes in Germany, the UK and the rest of Europe.

It said it wanted to adapt production to shrinking demand.

The second biggest car maker in the US is expected to lose more than $1billion in Europe this year.

Its car sales have plunged 12 per cent in Europe in the year to August, according to an industry group, and by 29 per cent in August.