Ford to cut jobs as part of global restructuring effort

Jim Hackett, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, speaks at the Ford press preview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 14, 2018.REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid

• In a move influenced by a larger company-wide restructuring effort, Ford announced on Tuesday that it will be cutting jobs from its global salaried workforce. 
• Ford officials told The Detroit News that while the cuts will come by the second quarter of 2019, they don’t know which regions will see the largest cuts and they don’t expect the work reduction to affect hourly employees. 
• Last month, CEO Jim Hackett told a Bloomberg business forum conference that metal tariffs from President Trump’s trade war are costing the carmaker $1 billion dollars. 
• According to the Detroit News, Ford employs 86,000 workers in the U.S. and 202,000 people globally. 

In a move influenced by a larger company-wide restructuring effort, Ford said on Tuesday that it will be cutting jobs from its global salaried workforce. 

The Detroit News reported on Tuesday that Ford executives expect to cut a number of salaried employees globally, including those in the North American division of the company, having determined that the automaker has too many “layers” of salaried workers.  

Ford officials told The Detroit News that while the cuts will come by the second quarter of 2019, they don’t know which regions will see the largest cuts and they don’t expect the work reduction to affect hourly employees. 

According to the Detroit News, Ford employs 86,000 workers in the U.S. and 202,000 people globally. 

Last month, CEO Jim Hackett told a Bloomberg business forum conference that metal tariffs are costing the carmaker $1 billion dollars. 

This is a time of transition for the venerable American automaker. The company is amidst an $11 billion global restructuring effort under Hackett, driven in large part by changes to a domestic product line, tougher European emissions standards, and a lack of sales in Asia, according to Bloomberg.

MLive.com, the Michigan-only news site, reported during the 2018 third quarter, Ford’s U.S. sales were down 4 percent to 606,939, with car sales dropping 25.7 percent, pickups down 9.9 percent and SUVs down 2.7 percent. 

Earlier this year, Ford announced it will be ending its production of all compact cars and sedans (except for the iconic Mustang) to focus more on the production of crossover SUVs, which have become increasingly popular among American consumers. 

But not all is challenging for the 115-year old company. The Ford F-150 is still the best-selling vehicle in America and has been for 35 years. In September, the company announced an all-electric SUV that will rival Tesla. And according to Business Insider’s Matt Debord, Ford expects to have “the freshest showrooms in the industry,” by 2020. 

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