Ford set to cut workers in North America, Asia

Ford Motor Co. will cut 1,400 salaried workers in its North America and Asia Pacific operations by the end of September.

The U.S. automaker said in an official statement released Wednesday that it "plans to reduce 10 percent of salaried costs and personnel levels in North America and Asia Pacific this year," in order to reduce costs, enliven stock performance and boost profits.

The cuts will be from the automaker's "most skill teams" in North America and Asia Pacific regions, while the product development and Ford Credit, information technology, and global data and analytics teams will remain intact as the automaker is shifting its focus to self-driving cars and other mobility areas including ride sharing.

Production jobs on an hourly basis will not be affected also, the Dearborn-based automaker said.

Ford has about 15,000 salaried employees that will be affected by the cut, including 9,600 in the U.S., 1,000 in Mexico, 600 in Canada and 4,141 in the Asia Pacific and China region, the Detroit News quoted a Ford spokesman as saying Wednesday.

Speculation that Ford will cut its global workforce by 10 percent has spread for a week.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)