DEARBORN, MICHIGAN (AP) – Ford Motor Co is going through another round of white-collar job cuts as the company continues to reduce costs amid a transition to electric vehicles (EVs).
The company confirmed that it was starting to notify several hundred engineers and other salaried employees that their jobs are being eliminated. The firings come after around 200 Ford contract employees were let go last week.
Spokesman TR Reid wouldn’t give a specific number of Ford jobs that are being cut this week, but said they are not nearly the scale of those made last summer when the company let go of 3,000 white-collar workers and another 1,000 contractors largely in the United States. Most of the cuts were in engineering, but all business units will see job cuts, Reid said.
“Teams that were affected were pulled together yesterday to let them know that there would be actions taken this week. Then individual people will be notified today and tomorrow,” Reid said.
Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley has said much of Ford’s workforce doesn’t have the right skills as it makes the transition from internal combustion to battery-powered vehicles.
This week’s moves, he said, show that Ford is adapting to change more consistently. “It’s more real time and not kind of big titanic events,” he said, adding that the company also is hiring in some areas such as software development.
The job cuts also come as Ford tries to level out what its executives said is a USD7 billion cost disadvantage to its competitors.
The company also is investing over USD50 billion by 2026 to develop and build EVs across the globe.
