As part of its turnaround plan that included cutting up to 15 percent of its salaried workers and contractors, an executive from the Blue Oval announced on Wednesday that the goal was met.
“We had to take some tough decisions, we got through it,” Mark Fields, Ford ’s president of the Americas, told Reuters reporters. Fields did not specify exactly how many employees took the also undisclosed severance packages Ford offered. The automaker lost $8.7 billion in the second quarter of 2008, and will re-evaluate its operations further, so it is possible more cuts will be made.
Fields said the company plans to make its biggest ever investment in engine and transmission production over the next two years, as it realigns its offerings to match the customers’ and government’s new demands for more efficient cars. It is also bringing six European models to sell in North America and retooling truck plants to build passenger cars as demand for the high-profit trucks and SUVs falls due to high gas prices.
