Ford to cut jobs in global restructure

21 May 2019

Ford will cut approximately 10% of its global salaried workforce, the company stated on Monday. The layoffs come as Ford is trying to cut costs and increase profits.

′We must reduce bureaucracy, empower managers, speed decision making, focus on the most valuable work and cut costs’

Combining voluntary buyouts, involuntary separations and open positions Ford chose not to fill, around 7,000 jobs will be eliminated by the end of August.

The job cuts are part of a wider initiative, in which Ford aims to save £471 million (€537 million) annually. The cuts were announced via an internal email, with 2,300 of the employees affected based in the US.

′To succeed in our competitive industry, and position Ford to win in a fast-changing future, we must reduce bureaucracy, empower managers, speed decision making, focus on the most valuable work and cut costs,’ Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett said in the email.

The company aims to save just over £20 billion (€23 billion) as part of a cost cutting programme that began in 2018. The cuts are focussed on allowing the carmaker to achieve 8% profit margins by 2018.

Worldwide cuts

The US is not the only region impacted by the global programme, jobs in Germany and the UK have also been under threat for some time.

Ford initially set job cuts in Germany at around 5,000, including temporary staff, as part of the same transformation.

The carmaker also suggested initially that 1,150 jobs would be cut in the UK but. more recent reports suggest that the figure could sit around the 550 mark.

′The total number of positions impacted in the UK is still to be determined,’ Ford said in an emailed statement.

Alongside job cuts, the company’s turnaround plan will also see certain models, such as the C-Max, cut from its line-up as it focuses instead on smaller cars and SUVs.