In a bombshell revelation, a report published by Bloomberg says that Ford may be making the most significant operational change yet in response to electrics: cutting thousands of jobs.
Bloomberg cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter who says the Blue Oval plans to reduce headcount by 8,000 over the next few weeks. The sources say the cuts intend to target the Ford unit responsible for producing internal combustion engine vehicles, along with those in salaried positions.
The report points out that Ford currently employs around 31,000 salaried workers, the bulk of whom are in the US.
Bloomberg cites a statement from Ford where the automaker’s Chief Communications Officer Mark Truby declined to comment on the cuts, but does say it’s focused on operational strategies with EV growth in mind.
“As part of this,” said Truby, “we have laid out clear targets to lower our cost structure to ensure we are lean and fully competitive with the best in the industry.”
This spring, Ford CEO Jim Farley also unveiled a plan to cut $3 billion in costs from the company, an initiative that followed comments earlier in the year where Farley declared that Ford has “too many people.”
The company also made headlines amid a recent restructuring, where Ford split the company’s ambitions into one focused on EVs – titled Model e – and one dedicated to gas powered vehicles – titled Ford Blue. During a town hall meeting in March detailing the changes, it was reported that executive chairman Bill Ford told an employee concerned about risk that a bigger risk would be to not make a bold change when the world is changing so fast.
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