Ford Plans Deep Cuts, Report Says
Ford Motor Co. 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 also will announce the departure of as many as 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 said it planned to eliminate 4,000 salaried jobs, or 10% of its North American white-collar workforce, as part of a turnaround plan.
Last month its larger rival, General Motors Corp., 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 reiterated Wednesday that the company would announce its restructuring plan in January. It is still being developed, he said, and declined to comment further.
Ford 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’s board is expected to review parts of the restructuring plan during a two-day meeting beginning 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 Friday in an e-mail that the restructuring plan had not yet been finalized.
Gerald Bantom, United Auto Workers vice president in charge of the union’s relations with Ford, told reporters Tuesday that the automaker’s restructuring plan was expected to be unveiled Jan. 23.
Like GM, Ford has seen its margins squeezed by a decline in U.S. market share and soaring healthcare and raw material costs.
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.
Its shares rose 9 cents Wednesday to $8.20.
