DETROIT – The following are major elements of Ford Motor Co.'s (F) widely anticipated restructuring plan, dubbed the "Way Forward," announced Monday:
— Ford plans to cut 25,000 to 30,000 jobs through 2012. That is in addition to previously announced plans to shed 4,000 salaried positions and reduce its ranks of corporate officers by 12 percent by the end of the first quarter. The company currently employs about 87,877 hourly workers and 35,000 salaried staff in North America.
— The No. 2 U.S. automaker will close 14 plants by 2012, including seven assembly plants. The sites to be idled include assembly plants in Missouri, Georgia and Michigan as well as a transmission plant in Ohio and Windsor Casting in Canada. Ford said it would identify two other assembly plants to close. It said the actions would reduce its assembly capacity by 1.2 million vehicles, or 26 percent, by 2008.
— Ford said it will save at least $6 billion by 2010 in materials costs by streamlining purchasing.
— The company projected it will return to profitability in its North American automotive business no later than 2008, although it suspended its practice of providing full-year financial forecasts to investors.
— The company said it expected to end 2006 with more than $20 billion of cash. It projected a pre-tax charge of $250 million for plant layoffs and another $220 million charge to write down the value of equipment.
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