Ford Motor stated on Wednesday it prepares to cut 1,400 white-collar jobs in North America and Asia through voluntary early retirement and other monetary incentives as the No. 2 U.S. automaker seeks to increase its drooping stock cost.
Ford shares dropped as much as 2.5 percent in heavy trading and were gone to their worst close since November 2012 as the wider markets toppled over the political turmoil in Washington.
The buyout deals were a portion of the 20,000 job cuts that some news outlets had reported Ford could reveal this week.
Ford informed the cuts would total up to about 10 percent of a group of 15,000 managers and other non-production employees and would lower labor costs for that section by 10 percent.
The company stated a large group of salaried workers would not be covered by the planned cuts, consisting of those in product development and in the Ford Credit unit. The cuts are not meant for Ford’s Europe or South America units.
About two-thirds of the buyout deals remain in North America and the rest in Asia. Ford does not prepare to cut hourly employees or production.
The car manufacturer will offer monetary incentives, consisting of generous early retirement offers, to motivate employed workers to leave voluntarily by the end of September. Ford stated it anticipates it will hit the targets through voluntary deals, spokesman Mike Moran stated.
“Reducing costs and ending up being as lean and efficient as possible likewise remain part of that work,” Moran stated.
The voluntary incentives deals are going to about 9,600 of 30,000 U.S. salaried workers, the company stated.
In 2016, Ford cut numerous white-collar jobs in Europe, minimizing expenses by $200 million annually.
Ford continues to produce strong revenues, reporting a record $10.4 billion in pretax revenues in last year, and anticipates to make around $9 billion this year.
