Cost-cutting seems to be the name of the game at car manufacturers throughout the industry, and Ford today announced its latest measures in an attempt to decrease overhead. Over the next two months, the Detroit-based automaker will cut salaried and contract jobs as well as consolidating jobs, among other actions, that add up to a 15 percent reduction in expenses at its white collar workforce.
“We told employees today we are going to cut salaried workforce-related expenses by 15 percent and complete the actions by August 1,” Ford spokesperson Marcey Evans told Automotive News. The salaried employees who are dismissed will be offered standard severance packages, although Ford does not disclose what that includes.
A decrease in profitability and sales, blamed largely on the high gasoline prices and the resulting fall of the F-150 as the best selling vehicle, spurred the move. The automaker also plans to offer hourly, union-represented blue-collar workers at slowing truck and SUV plants buyout packages.
To reflect the needs of the changing market, Ford will launch the Fiesta subcompact in North America by 2010.
