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Ford plans deep job cuts: report
Wednesday December 7, 1:36 pm ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - News) plans to cut 25,000 to 30,000 jobs in North America within five years and close at least 10 plants, according to a report in the Detroit News on Wednesday.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker will also announce the departure of up to seven top executives in coming weeks, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the plan.
Ford has said it would announce a comprehensive restructuring plan in January that aims to restore North American operations to profitability.
The plan in the report appears to be more aggressive than expected. Analysts had forecast that Ford would shutter four assembly plants in North America.
Last month, Ford, whose shares edged higher in midday trade, said it planned to eliminate 4,000 salaried jobs, or 10 percent of its North American white-collar work force, as part of a turnaround plan dubbed the "Way Forward."
Last month its larger rival General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - News) announced plans to slash 30,000 manufacturing jobs and close a dozen North American plants. Both automakers are struggling against high costs and increased Japanese competition.
Ford spokesman Oscar Suris on Wednesday reiterated that the company will announce its restructuring plan in January. It is still being developed, he said, declining to comment on possible plant closings, job losses and management changes.
Ford Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford Jr. has said the plan would include "significant plant closings" but has declined to elaborate. The extent of the restructuring has been the subject of widespread speculation.
FORD DIRECTORS TO MEET WEDNESDAY
Reuters reported on Monday that Ford's board is expected to review parts of the restructuring plan during a two-day meeting beginning on Wednesday.
Mark Fields, the executive vice president in charge of Ford's Americas operations -- who is drafting the company's turnaround strategy along with Anne Stevens, chief operating officer of Americas -- told employees on Friday in an e-mail that the restructuring plan had not yet been finalized.
Gerald Bantom, the United Auto Workers vice president in charge of the union's relations with Ford told reporters late on Tuesday the automaker's restructuring plan was expected to be unveiled on January 23.
Like GM, Ford has seen its margins squeezed by soaring health-care and raw material costs, and a decline in U.S. market share. So far this year, Ford's North American unit has lost more than $1.4 billion before taxes.
Ford's U.S. sales have fallen for all but two of the last 18 months. The company's sales fell 18 percent in November.
Shares of Ford rose 12 cents to $8.23 on the New York Stock Exchange. GM shares were down 38 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $22.01. |
