On June 26, Ford announced it would carry out layoffs, primarily affecting engineering jobs in the U.S. and Canada, as the carmaker aims to cut costs while restructuring its business operations.
All three of Ford’s business units, Ford Blue, Model E, and Ford Pro, are expected to be impacted by the job cuts.
The automaker stated in its most recent quarterly report from May that it anticipated total expenses in 2023 to range between $1.5 billion to $2 billion, “mainly attributable to employee separations and supplier settlements.”
Under the direction of Jim Farley and the Ford+ strategy, Ford has been reorganizing its operations for several years. In August, the automaker laid off 3,000 employees in the U.S. and, more recently, 3,800 employees in Europe.
When examining the capital necessary for specific sectors, Ford stated in its first-quarter filing, “We continue to review our global businesses and may take additional restructuring actions where a path to sustained profitability is not feasible.”
Farley also claims the company’s cost disadvantage over some of its competitors is roughly $7 billion more. In a statement sent via email, the company said: “Delivering our Ford + plan for development and value creation requires raising quality, decreasing costs, examining our priorities, and modifying staffing to match the capabilities we need. Additionally, the automaker claimed that the people affected by the changes would be offered severance pay, benefits, and significant help to find new career opportunities.
However, Ford is one of many carmakers to cut staff as it restructures its operations to concentrate more on EVs. To illustrate, rival GM ran an employee buyout program and layoffs that cost $875 million in the first quarter. Stellantis, the manufacturer of Jeep, announced in April that it was extending voluntary buyout offers to around 33,500 U.S. workers as the multinational carmaker looks to reduce expenses and its workforce.
