DETROIT, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Financially troubled Ford Motor Co. is briefing directors about plans to close 10 factories and lay off as many as 30,000 North American workers.
Details of the reorganization, which was being explained to board members Wednesday and Thursday, will take place over five years, the Detroit News reported. Directors approved broad outlines of the reorganization in October.
The scope and severity of the plan exceeds what Bill Ford announced when he became chief executive officer four years ago.
His new plan calls for 25,000 to 30,000 blue-collar jobs to be eliminated in North America over five years and, early next year, about 4,000 salaried employees. That is in addition to the 2,750 salaried workers Ford dismissed earlier this year.
The No. 2 U.S. carmaker had 87,000 UAW-represented workers in North America at the end of 2004. It has about 11,600 union workers in Canada.
Factories in St. Paul, Minn., and St. Louis are vulnerable to closing.
