Ford Offers Buyout to Cut Headcount by 1000 Jobs, Looks at Admin, Marketing and Advertising to Save Money

Snides Remarks; If you can eliminate 1000 workers and still fulfil your business' mission, why did you hire them in the first place? When biz gets good again will they be hired back? Is this all just bull for Wall Street? Please let me know msnide@theautochannel.com.

DETROIT April 5, 2005; Reuters reported that Ford said it is offering buyout packages to salaried employees, with the aim of eliminating about 1,000 U.S. jobs by the end of June in an effort to cut costs and meet profit targets.

"One thousand is about the number we have targeted as being the right amount to get (the cost cuts)," Ford spokeswoman Marcy Evans said.

If the automaker can't get enough employees to accept its buyout offer, it may resort to layoffs, Evans said.

Ford, which employs 45,000 salaried employees in the United States, has been losing vital U.S. market share to Asian and domestic rivals. The company's U.S. sales declined 5.2 percent so far this year.

Ford also said last month that it expects profits this year to be at the lower end of its previous forecast range of $1.75 to $1.95 per share.

"The business environment in the U.S. is very challenging and we have set some financial targets for the company we intend to meet," Evans said.

Ford's rival General Motors Corp. has also offered buyout packages to some of its white-collar employees to cut costs at the world's largest automaker. GM said last month that it will post its weakest first-quarter earnings since 1992, and profits this year could fall as much as 80 percent below its previous forecast.

Ford faces many of the same problems as GM, including rising health-care costs and falling U.S. market share, factors that have spurred Standard & Poor's to cut the bond ratings at both automakers to one step above "junk" status.

Ford, which informed its employees about the job cuts on Monday in an e-mail, expects the process to be completed by June 30, Evans said.

Other expenses under scrutiny include travel, administrative and marketing costs, Evans said.