Ford To Cut 7K Salaried Jobs Worldwide As Part Of Restructuring

Ford Motor Company F is eliminating 7,000 salaried jobs worldwide, about 10 percent of its global salaried workforce, according to several reports. The cuts will include 500 salaried jobs in North America.

What Happened

Ford CEO Jim Hackett sent a note to employees notifying them of the job cuts, part of a restructuring of its management and workforce structure. The memo to employees was obtained by The Detroit News.

The car maker said it expects the worldwide cuts to be made by the end of August. The first wave of cuts, expected to be the largest, will start Tuesday, the paper reported. In addition to North America, Ford is also restructuring in Europe, China and South America, and in its International Markets Group.

The cuts had been expected and some market analysts had projected the move would be bigger, with potentially 20,000 jobs eliminated.

Why It's Important

Ford’s cost-cutting moves and recent strong earnings, coupled with additional investments in new technology, have impressed investors.

Ford has been cutting costs for a couple of years, and has said it intends to trim about $25 billion from its operating costs in the coming years.

The job cuts are part of a global restructuring that’s expected to save about $600 million annually, reducing management structure by as much as 20 percent.

What's Next

Ford is trying to move hard into future needs, including production of electric and autonomous cars. Ford has said it will invest nearly $1 billion in Michigan, including an expansion of its Flat Rock Assembly Plant, where it intends to build electric vehicles, and eventually a next generation Mustang, and add 900 jobs.

Ford will next report earnings on July 24.

Shares of Ford were trading around $10.28 on Monday morning.

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