By Aishwarya Nair
(Reuters) – Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday it will begin layoffs this week, impacting mostly engineering jobs in the U.S. and Canada, as part of the Detroit automaker’s move to exit unprofitable locations and cut headcount.
The development comes after the company said in May it expects to take up restructuring charges between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in 2023.
The Wall Street Journal reported the company plans to lay off at least 1,000 salaried employees and contract workers in North America, but Ford did not specify the number of roles to be affected by the move.
“People affected by the changes will be offered severance pay, benefits,” Ford said in an emailed statement, adding the layoffs were not restricted to engineering roles.
“This is related to the Ford+ growth plan we introduced in 2021,” the company added.
“Delivering on the plan includes adjusting staffing to match focused priorities and ambitions while raising quality and lowering costs.”
The automaker’s latest effort to streamline operations comes after peers Stellantis NV and General Motors said they were offering employee buyouts.
CNBC reported on Monday job cuts were expected to affect all three of Ford’s business units – Ford Blue, Model e and Ford Pro.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has previously said the automaker had too many people and that not enough of its workforce had the skills required as the auto industry shifts to electric vehicles and digital services.
In February, Ford also detailed plans to eliminate 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe in the next three years.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair and Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
