Ford: 38,000 workers have accepted offers

Ford still has a long way to go on the road to restructuring.
DETROIT (AP) -- Almost half of Ford Motor Co.'s hourly production workers -- 38,000 so far this year -- have accepted buyouts or early retirement offers as the nation's second biggest automaker shrinks in the face of multibillion-dollar losses and fierce competition from Asian carmakers.
The figure includes approximately 30,000 buyouts during the open signup period that concluded late Monday, plus about 8,000 who took deals offered at limited plants earlier this year.
Also Wednesday, the Dearborn-based automaker said it expects to post cumulative cash outflows of about 17 billion during the 2007 to 2009 period.
Faced with lower demand for its products, Ford had hoped that 25,000 to 30,000 workers would sign up during the just-expired round of buyout offers so it could reduce manufacturing capacity to better match demand.
The number who did was at the top end of that range.
The 38,000-worker reduction this year would amount to nearly 46 percent of the 83,000 unionized employees that Ford had at the start of the year.
Those who accepted the buyout packages will begin to leave the company starting in January, the company said.
Packages
The eight packages offered to employees ranged from 35,000 to 140,000 depending on their years of service, age and how close they are to retirement.
One four-year package offered up to 15,000 per year for college tuition, plus half of the workers' salaries and health benefits.
Another offer paid 70 percent of employees' salaries and tuition for two years.
"One of Ford's priorities, and a large cost component of our 'Way Forward' plan for North America, is our ability to adjust manufacturing capacity with demand, while continuing to reduce operating costs and becoming more efficient," Ford President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.
"While I know that in many cases decisions to leave the company were difficult for our employees, the acceptances received through this voluntary effort will help Ford to become more competitive."
Pete Hastings, vice president of corporate fixed income at Morgan Keegan in Memphis, Tenn., said the buyout announcement "represents one step among many on a long road" to Ford's turnaround.
He said the automaker still must address a loss of market share and structural costs that he said are imposed by unions when it renegotiates with the United Auto Workers next fall.
"They'll probably need another round of restructuring to adjust to the lower capacity from falling market share," Hastings said.