Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) announced it would cut up to 4,000 to 5,000 white-collar jobs in North America, or about 10 percent of its salaried work force, as it struggles to reverse declines in sales, profitability and US market share in the face of fierce competition. The automaker also said it was slashing its full-year 2001 earnings forecast by more than 40 percent.
Additionally, the company, which recently reported a second-quarter operating loss of $551.0 million, warned that more job losses may be announced as it takes other cost-cutting measures later this year.
"This is an element of a broader, more comprehensive restructuring of our North American operations," CFO Martin Inglis told analysts in a conference call. "I would say nothing is off limits," Inglis said. "We will come and give you details at year-end. The intent is, we're going to make our structure much more competitive."
Ford said it would take after-tax charges totaling $900.0 million in the second half, mostly to cover the cost of the work force reduction, which will be achieved largely through voluntary retirements.
