Ford Continues to cut back...What's new?...
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Ford Motor Co. Plans to Cut Up to 5,000 Salaried Jobs in North America, Source Says
Friday August 17, 6:01 am Eastern Time
By ED GARSTEN
AP Auto Writer
<<DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. [NYSE:F - news] has decided to eliminate between 4,000 and 5,000 white-collar jobs in North America by offering workers early retirement packages, a company executive told The Associated Press on Friday.
The cuts will account for about 10 percent of the automaker's salaried work force in North America. The employees will be offered ``very good'' packages, according to the high-ranking Ford executive who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
``We've become much more efficient and the jobs are not needed anymore,'' the source said. ``It's an incredibly competitive market and the economy has slowed.''
All the workers who are leaving are expected to be gone by December, the executive said. Further details were unavailable. Ford, the world's second largest automaker, was to make the announcement Friday.
The yearlong economic slowdown has been hard on automakers as well as other companies struggling with slumping demand. To cope, they have scaled back production and capital investment and laid off workers.
In the last 12 months, manufacturers nationwide have cut a total of 837,000 jobs. Telecommunications, computer and electronics companies have announced more than 358,000 job cuts this year, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a job-placement firm.
In January, DaimlerChrysler AG [NYSE:DAJ - news] announced an aggressive restructuring program at its U.S.-based Chrysler division that would result in the loss of 26,000 jobs over the next three years, about 20 percent of the company's North American work force.
Once thought to be in a position to overtake General Motors Corp. as the world's leading automaker, Ford's momentum slipped into reverse last August with the recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires, many of which were installed as original equipment on its popular Ford Explorers.
Adding to Ford's woes were disappointing showings in two influential industry studies. Ford assembly plants were shown to be last among the U.S. automakers in quality in the J.D. Power initial quality study, and while still first among domestic car companies in productivity, the Harbour Report found Ford's lead diminishing.
In the second quarter that ended June 30, Ford lost $752 million in large part due to the costs of replacing 13 million Firestone tires and restructuring charges involving Mazda Motor Corp., of which Ford owns a one-third interest.
The automaker was expected to take a charge of about $1 billion against its third-quarter earnings to cover the initial cost of the job cuts, The Detroit News reported.
Ford management also has begun reviewing the possible delay of some planned vehicle models, which would lower the company's design and engineering costs, The New York Times reported.
Shares of Ford were up 92 cents, or more than 4 percent, to close at $23.47 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.>> |
