Ford to cut 15 percent of salaried workers

DEARBORN, Mich., June 5 (UPI) -- Dearborn, Mich., automaker Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that workforce reductions would include 15 percent of its salaried North American employees.

Ford informed workers of the percent in an in-house email, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"Our plan is to reduce salaried-related costs in North America by 15 percent by Aug. 1," said the e-mail from Ford's president of the Americas, Mark Fields.

"We won't know the exact number of job reductions until each function examines its business needs and determines how best to meet their specific cost-reduction target," the e-mail said.

Ford, which has 23,400 salaried employees, has already announced it would not meet its goals for 2008.