Ford is working on an extended, broader-based buyout and early-retirement offer for workers at all of the auto maker’s North American factories, according to a news report.
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Ford is expected to announce the extended blue-collar buyout plan in mid-September when it details round two of its “Way Forward” restructuring agenda, according to a Bloomberg News report published on Monday, which cited unnamed sources, Dow Jones Newswires said. The retooled Way Forward is due to be announced the week following a 14 September Ford board meeting, where restructuring actions will be firmed up.
“There’s a lot of speculation on what we will do next,” Ford spokesman Oscar Suris told Dow Jones, declining to comment on whether Ford will offer a broad-based attrition programme.
John Moore, president of the United Auto Workers Local 387 in Flat Rock, Michigan, told Dow Jones he expects Ford to offer the plan, although “nothing has been set in stone.” The company and higher-level union officials have not specifically discussed the matter with him, he added.
“I think you’re going to see them step up the buyouts,” Moore said in an interview Monday.
Ford has been offering a range of buyouts at various plants in North America and it plans to cut its North American workforce by 12,000 by the end of 2006.
Ford’s September restructuring announcement is expected to take place the week following the company’s 14 September board meeting. The plan could include white-collar salary and headcount cost cuts, further plant-closure announcements that come in addition to the 14 factories it plans to shutter and new product announcements, Dow Jones said.
Ford announced major third quarter production cuts last Friday.
