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Ford readies new cuts
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August 17, 2001: 4:05 a.m. ET
Report: Car maker plans big new early-retirement programme
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LONDON (CNN) - Ford Motor is preparing to cut as many as 4,600 white-collar jobs in the U.S. via an early-retirement drive, a media report said on Friday.
The Detroit car maker is responding to a slump in sales that has depressed its share of the overall vehicle market, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified people close to the company.
The paper said Ford is also considering delaying the launch of some new models as another way of cutting costs. A company spokesman declined to give the Times any comment.
In July, Ford saw a 12.7 percent decline in sales, compared with an industry that contracted by 5 percent overall.
A reduction of 4,600 would represent a 10 percent cut in the company's U.S.-based white-collar staff.
"There is a whole list of actions being considered, some of which will be announced very shortly," the Times quoted an anonymous informant as saying.
Ford shares on Thursday rose 92 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $23.47.
The paper said that previous early-retirement programmes had been effective at reducing payroll, because of the company's high number of white-collar staff in their 50s – a result of the relatively low rate of hiring Ford has conducted since the late 1970s. 
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