THOUSANDS more Ford workers will be told by the end of the week that they are losing their jobs, as the ailing car company put the finishing touches last night to its fortified plan to stem billions of dollars of losses.
The Ford board, which met yesterday for the first time under its new chief executive Alan Mulally, was busy revamping its “Way Forward” restructuring plan. Sources close to the United Auto Workers union told The Times that the company was expected to offer redundancy packages to all employees to speed up its job cuts plan.
The number of jobs to be eliminated is expected to rise from 35,000 to 40,000 or higher, with more white-collar employees facing redundancy than the 4,000 announced. A greater number of North American plants are expected to be closed, but the company is not expected to shelve any of its famous brands.
The number of dealerships in the United States is expected to be reduced, but Ford plans to make a case for keeping its lucrative car-financing division, which is one of its greatest drivers of profit.
A question mark still hangs over the fate of Jaguar, however, which has attracted interest from a number of suitors, including a private equity group headed by Jac Nasser, the former Ford chief executive.
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A spokesman for Ford declined to comment about the expected increase in job cuts.