Ford Will Terminate 3,000 White-Collar Jobs to Cut Costs as Part of EV Transition: Report

The layoffs are meant to "simplify" functions throughout the business

Ford grille — trademarks 'Skyline' name
(Image: Ford)

Ford announced that it is “eliminating work” and “simplifying functions” as part of restructuring its North American work force.

3,000 Ford Motor Company employees will lose their jobs this week, according to a company-wide email. CEO Jim Farley and Executive Chair Bill Ford said those working in the U.S., Canada and India are among those affected, and the move is coming as the Blue Oval undergoes its transformation toward selling electric vehicles. Automotive News first reported on the job cuts Monday.

“Building this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century,” said Farley and Ford in that email. “It means redeploying resources and addressing our cost structure, which is uncompetitive versus traditional and new companies.” To that end, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker aims to eliminate 3,000 positions over the coming days. 2,000 of the lost jobs will affect salaried Ford employees. Another 1,000 made redundant are contract workers. In all, the job cuts amount to about 6% of Ford’s 31,000-strong salaried work force in the U.S. and Canada. Some of that total figure will impact Indian workers, though that exact number is unclear at the moment.

Ford’s announcement will not impact its 56,000 unionized factory workers.

More job cuts may come in the near future.

Farley has emphasized on several occasions that Ford Motor Company needs a trimmer, more agile work force. This week is a clear shift toward that goal. However, more cuts may come down the road as the industry continues to face upheaval as it reckons with an unprecedented and uncertain future.

“We are eliminating work, as well as reorganizing and simplifying functions throughout the business,” Farley and Ford wrote in Monday’s email.

As part of the move, the automaker will offer severance and assistance in finding new jobs to those laid off this week. “None of this changes the fact that this is a difficult and emotional time. The people leaving the company this week are friends and coworkers and we want to thank them for all they have contributed to Ford,” the email says. “We have a duty to care for and support those affected — and we will live up to this duty — providing not only [severance] benefits but significant help to find new career opportunities.”

In addition to funding its EV ambitions and combating current inflation, Ford also currently faces a $1.7 billion verdict against it related to a fatal 2014 crash in Georgia (as reported by the Associated Press). The company plans to appeal that decision.