Job cuts hanging over Ford headquarters

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 30 (UPI) -- Repeated layoffs at Ford Motor Co. over the past three years have formed a "black cloud" over the company's Michigan headquarters, one worker said.

One worker, fearing he could be added to the layoff list, wished to remain anonymous when he said the latest rounds of layoffs had created "a black cloud hanging over everybody's head," at the company's headquarters, The Detroit News reported Monday.

The most recent cut -- the company aiming to trim salaried payroll by 15 percent -- feels longer in part because previous layoffs were preceded by voluntary job buyouts, the News reported.

The voluntary buyout phase of previous workforce reductions gave departments time to figure out who to cut if the voluntary buyouts didn't eliminate enough jobs, the newspaper reported.

As moral sinks, "Everybody's kind of frozen," said John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Many workers are wondering if they're next to be put out of work and spending work time scanning the Internet for other options, the report said.

Ford lost $2.7 billion in 2007 but expected a return to profits in 2008. It gave up on that goal as the economy worsened and rising fuel prices derailed its production strategy.