skooter
07-22-03, 12:51 AM
Ford may cut up to 2,000 jobs
Automaker says cost-cutting will hit white-collar workers
NEW YORK, July 18 ? Ford Motor Co. may cut as many as 2,000 salaried jobs worldwide as part of a 10 percent reduction in salaried employee costs the company announced Friday.
THE MOVE CAME two days after Ford said it would intensify its cost-cutting to meet financial targets, and warned that it saw no economic improvement in the United States and Europe for the remainder of the year.
In an e-mail to employees, Ford Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele said the company would examine every method possible to further reduce costs, including reductions in travel, consulting, and other discretionary expenses.
?In addition, we have asked each operation to reduce salaried-related costs by about 10 percent by the end of the year,? the e-mail said.
Scheele said he hoped job cuts could be achieved through attrition, reduced overtime and selective hiring freezes, but he warned that if targets could not be met, ?We will have to reduce our salaried personnel structure to address the balance.?
Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said the company had no specific estimate on job losses.
?There?s no final number. Its being determined,? he said.
A company source said Ford was targeting roughly 2,000 white-collar jobs, mostly in North America. Ford has 79,000 salaried workers worldwide, with 45,000 in North America.
Ford reported a 27 percent drop in second-quarter earnings Wednesday, along with break-even results in its automotive business, due to slow sales and higher incentives in the United States and Europe. While it stuck to its full-year earnings target of 70 cents a share, it also said it was planning $600 million in cost cuts in the second half of 2003.
The announcement came on the same day Ford launched negotiations with the United Auto Workers on a new contract for 95,000 U.S. hourly workers. As part of its 2001 turnaround plan, Ford has said it wants to close assembly plants in Missouri and New Jersey, moves barred by the current UAW contract, which expires in September.
When asked if the timing of Ford?s white-collar cuts was a concern, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said, ?I don?t know that that?s a message to us. It shouldn?t be.
?We?re always concerned about jobs,? he added. ?We?re concerned about the erosion of the manufacturing base in this country.?
Automaker says cost-cutting will hit white-collar workers
NEW YORK, July 18 ? Ford Motor Co. may cut as many as 2,000 salaried jobs worldwide as part of a 10 percent reduction in salaried employee costs the company announced Friday.
THE MOVE CAME two days after Ford said it would intensify its cost-cutting to meet financial targets, and warned that it saw no economic improvement in the United States and Europe for the remainder of the year.
In an e-mail to employees, Ford Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele said the company would examine every method possible to further reduce costs, including reductions in travel, consulting, and other discretionary expenses.
?In addition, we have asked each operation to reduce salaried-related costs by about 10 percent by the end of the year,? the e-mail said.
Scheele said he hoped job cuts could be achieved through attrition, reduced overtime and selective hiring freezes, but he warned that if targets could not be met, ?We will have to reduce our salaried personnel structure to address the balance.?
Ford spokesman Oscar Suris said the company had no specific estimate on job losses.
?There?s no final number. Its being determined,? he said.
A company source said Ford was targeting roughly 2,000 white-collar jobs, mostly in North America. Ford has 79,000 salaried workers worldwide, with 45,000 in North America.
Ford reported a 27 percent drop in second-quarter earnings Wednesday, along with break-even results in its automotive business, due to slow sales and higher incentives in the United States and Europe. While it stuck to its full-year earnings target of 70 cents a share, it also said it was planning $600 million in cost cuts in the second half of 2003.
The announcement came on the same day Ford launched negotiations with the United Auto Workers on a new contract for 95,000 U.S. hourly workers. As part of its 2001 turnaround plan, Ford has said it wants to close assembly plants in Missouri and New Jersey, moves barred by the current UAW contract, which expires in September.
When asked if the timing of Ford?s white-collar cuts was a concern, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said, ?I don?t know that that?s a message to us. It shouldn?t be.
?We?re always concerned about jobs,? he added. ?We?re concerned about the erosion of the manufacturing base in this country.?