Ford to cut 1,400 salaried jobs in North America, Asia

DETROIT — Ford told its employees Wednesday morning that it plans to cut 10 percent of its salaried workforce worldwide, or about 1,400 employees as the automaker wrangles with falling profits and pressure to boost its stock price amid slowing U.S. industry sales.

Most of the job cuts will occur in North America and Asia with other regions of the world left out either because they have already gone through a similar cost cutting program or because the region is smaller and is growing. The Dearborn automaker said workers eligible for a voluntary reduction program, will be offered early retirement and special separation packages through the end of September.

Media reports about Ford’s job cut program emerged earlier this week but were not confirmed by the automaker until Wednesday.

Ford said it remains focused on its strategic plan to transforming traditionally underperforming areas of its core business and to investing in emerging opportunities, such as mobility and autonomous vehicles. “Reducing costs and becoming as lean and efficient as possible also remain part of that work, including plans to reduce 10 percent of our salaried costs and personnel levels in North America and Asia Pacific this year, using voluntary packages,” the company said in a statement. The program does not include every global region or every department. Globally, Ford employs a total of about 15,000 salaried workers in the departments that will be affected with about 9,600 of those workers employed in the U.S., 1,000 in Mexico, 600 in Canada and 4,141 in Asia Pacific. The company, which employs a total of about 30,000 salaried workers in the U.S., did not break down the number of employees in Michigan that could be impacted.

The functions that are impacted include: communication, corporate staffing, finance, government affairs, marketing, purchasing and sales.

Ford said the program will not impact:

Workers in product development and those who work for Ford Credit, which already are improving total operating costs in other ways.

The manufacturing team, because the workforce in that division is tied to production levels.

Information technology, “which is already restructuring to keep up with the company’s transformation to an auto and a mobility company.”

Global data and analytics, which is new team that is still forming.

Ford also said its European and South American workforce is not affected by the program because both of those regions have already gone through a similar restructuring program. Also, workers in the Middle East and Africa are not impacted.