Ford Said to Be Cutting 4,000 to 5,000 Jobs

Ford Motor Co. said it will cut between 4,000 and 5,000 white-collar jobs in North America, a company executive saidThursday.

“We’ve become much more efficient and the jobs are not needed anymore,” a high-ranking Ford executive told Associated Press. “It’s an incredibly competitive market and the economy has slowed.”

Ford, based in suburban Detroit, is to make the announcement during a teleconference today. The cuts account for about 10% of the auto maker’s salaried work force.

The source said he expects all those who are leaving to leave in December. The auto maker will be offering “very good packages” to long-standing employees, the source said. More details were unavailable.

The auto maker 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.