Analysts Say Ford May Slash Up to 20,000 Jobs

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 08, 2002

Analysts Say Ford May Slash Up to 20,000 Jobs

Ford Motor's massive restructuring program to be announced Friday could include thousands of job cuts, analysts who follow the nation's second biggest carmaker say.

Ford Motor's massive restructuring program to be announced Friday could include thousands of job cuts, analysts who follow the nation's second biggest carmaker say.

Ford officials said Monday there would be some reductions in the workforce but wouldn't say how many cuts there would be. They said the plan is aimed at increasing manufacturing flexibility while reducing capacity and renewing focus on developing high quality products.

Ford Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele called analyst estimates of job cuts "guesses."

"We're not going to respond to what external people say you must do or not do," he said Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

On Sunday, Chairman and CEO William Clay Ford Jr. told reporters at the show that Ford "can't cost-cut our way out" its slump. "The turnaround will be driven by great products," he said.

Some analysts have predicted that up to 20,000 jobs will be eliminated to help the company become profitable again.

Scheele said Monday the restructuring plan would be global and include operations in Japan.

Both Scheele and North American operations chief Jim Padilla said there would be some head count reductions that could be accomplished largely through attrition.

The automaker said last month that it expected to report a loss of 50 cents a share for the last three months of 2001. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 14 cents a share for the quarter and some said the company's loan policies led to trouble.

Last week Ford reported its U.S. vehicles sales dropped 6% in 2001 from 2000.

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