Ford preparing to cut 1,000 salaried jobs in North America, report says

Ford Motor Co. will offer early retirement incentives with hopes of cutting its U.S. white-collar workforce by 1,000 positions, a news report from Bloomberg says.

The offers will go to U.S. salaried workers who are eligible to retire as of Dec. 31, the Bloomberg said, citing unnamed sources. Those approved to retire would leave the company by the end of the year.

Ford has about 30,000 white-collar workers in the U.S.

This is part of an US$11 billion global restructuring that began two years ago as the Detroit-based automaker projects an operating loss this year.

The job cuts are aimed at improving the automaker’s efficiency and reportedly not related to rising costs from the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reports.

An announcement could come as early as this week.

Last year Ford said it would cut 12,000 jobs in Europe and 7,000 white-collar positions worldwide as it trimmed expenses to prepare for a world of autonomous and electric vehicles. The 7,000 salaried positions amounted to 10 per cent of Ford’s total worldwide and included 2,300 in the U.S. The cuts were accomplished with buyouts and involuntary layoffs. The cuts were designed to reduce bureaucracy and allow the company to make faster decisions.

Like other automakers, Ford has been struggling this year as the coronavirus forced factory closures and reduced demand from consumers. Factories have been reopened and demand is slowly returning.