Ford Motor Co is expected to cut up to 5,000 non-union, white collar jobs in the face of lagging vehicle sales and the mounting cost of sales offers, an industry analyst said against a background of rumors to this effect.
The news could come as early as Friday, said Howard Kenig, a syndicated business radio commentator and automotive analyst with Nevada-based Automotive Information Resources which tracks Ford's financial performance closely.
'The fact is, they're going to announce something,' said Kenig, referring to rumors that have been leaking from company insiders during the past few days. 'This is a very significant job cut.'
The company said a year ago it would eliminate about 10% of its non-essential employees through attrition and by use of a controversial rating system, since dropped, said Kenig.
Ford has been dodging the financial bullet for the past year with two recalls of potentially faulty tires on its popular Explorer sport utility vehicles, one for 13 million tires at a cost of about $2.1bn that began in the Spring.
A recent offer to settle a long-standing California class action lawsuit over faulty engine ignition modules could cost the company as much as an estimated $1bn, although Ford has not released a dollar amount.
