Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) is eliminating 1,000 salaried jobs in North America as part of an $11-billion U.S. global restructuring.
The job cuts are aimed at improving the automaker’s efficiency as it projects an operating loss this year. Ford is in the midst of a global reorganization that began two years ago as the company seeks to achieve what Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett calls "financial fitness."
Last year, Ford closed plants and eliminated thousands of jobs in Europe, where it has been losing money. In North America, the automaker’s most profitable region thanks to robust sales of pick-up trucks, the cutbacks are smaller and expected to come in the form of voluntary buyouts. The latest cuts are in addition to 2,300 previously announced salaried job reductions in the U.S.
Ford cut 7,000 salaried positions worldwide last year in the first round of the global overhaul. Those reductions were expected to save the company $600 million U.S. a year. The carmaker had a worldwide workforce of 190,000 people at the end of 2019.
The latest job reductions come as Hackett prepares to retire and make way for Jim Farley, who becomes the automaker’s Chief Executive Officer on October 1. Farley has promised to return Ford’s North American region to a 10% profit margin. His first big test will be the launch of a redesigned version of the bestselling F-150 pick-up truck at two U.S. factories.
