Ford could cut 9,ooo more jobs in US

Southfield: Ford Motor Co, the world's third-largest automaker, may eliminate as many as 9,000 more US factory jobs through its latest buyout offers, sources said.

The cuts would be in addition to the 33,600 union workers who left through buyouts and early retirements in 2006 and 2007, when Ford lost a combined $15.3 billion. Further reductions may help Ford restore profit by speeding the hiring of new workers who would be paid about half as much as current staff.

"These are realistic numbers," said Harley Shaiken, a labour professor at the University of California at Berkeley. "Workers are reassessing their options. It is a very tough choice."

Ford doesn't have an estimate of how many workers will accept the buyouts, proposed to a first group of workers last month, the person said. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker won't limit the number who leave if more than the target range of 8,000 to 9,000 opt for the offers.

Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman, declined to comment. Roger Kerson, a spokesman for the United Auto Workers union, didn't return telephone messages. The Detroit Free Press reported on February 9 that Ford had an internal target of 8,000, citing sources. That reduction would represent more than 12 per cent of its North American factory workers.

Fall

Ford's employment fell to 64,000 at the end of last year at North American plants from 99,500 two years earlier. Ford and the UAW in November agreed on a contract that permits the company to pay lower wages for new hires while keeping open five factories targeted for closure. Under the four-year agreement, Ford can pay up to 20 per cent of its US factory workers the reduced wage.

Under the accord, Ford's hourly costs for new workers will be $26 to $31, or about half the $60 expense for a current UAW member's wages and benefits.

Before new, lower-paid workers can be hired, Ford must resolve the fate of workers at closed factories and at its Automotive Components Holdings unit, which includes factories Ford took back from former parts subsidiary Visteon Corp. Most of those plants are being closed or sold, and some of the UAW-represented employees may go to Ford plants.