Restructurings are part of CEO Jim Hackett’s broader plan to reverse declining profits
Ford Motor Co. F -1.02% said it is cutting 7,000 salaried employees, or about 10% of its white-collar workforce, part of Chief Executive Jim Hackett’s broader plan to reverse profit declines and catch up to competitors in the fast-changing car business.
Mr. Hackett said the cuts include some buyouts and layoffs that already have occurred, and the process will be completed by August, according to an email sent to employees on Monday. The cuts will save about $600 million annually and are part of a broader, multiyear restructuring that will result in about $11 billion in charges.
The reductions will include 800 layoffs in North America, where Ford already has made about 1,500 voluntary buyouts, a company spokesman said.
.. Ford is the latest car company to make deep job cuts as the industry ratchets up investment in costly technology bets, such as electric and self-driving cars. Many big auto makers are restructuring their car-manufacturing operations to funnel more money toward potential growth areas, while preparing for an era of tougher tailpipe-emissions regulations in Europe and China.
Over the past year, several of the top car makers have disclosed job cuts totaling as many as 30,000 positions globally.
Ford signaled last fall it had begun a global revamping of its workforcethat would result in layoffs. Mr. Hackett took the top job two years ago and has been working on a turnaround plan that he has said will make Ford more nimble amid the changes buffeting the car business. Those include the emergence of driverless and electric-vehicle technology and new business models that could curb private vehicle ownership. Ford had a total global workforce of roughly 199,000 employees last year, according to its annual filing. As of last fall, the company said about 70,000 of those staffers were salaried employees.