The Wall Street Journal reports Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that Ford (NYSE:F) plans to lay off at least 1,000 salaried and employees and contract workers in North America in an effort to offset the heavy cost of investing in electric cars.
According to sources, Ford officially began notifying some salaried workers during internal meetings Monday that job cuts would be coming. The intended layoffs are primarily focused on the engineering divisions, reflecting Ford's strategy to streamline expenses throughout its various business units.
The development comes after the company said in May it expects to take up restructuring charges between $1.5 billion and $2B in 2023.
“This is related to the Ford+ growth plan we introduced in 2021,” the company said in an emailed statement.
“Delivering on the plan includes adjusting staffing to match focused priorities and ambitions while raising quality and lowering costs,” Ford added.
Over the past year, the automaker has undergone multiple rounds of global layoffs. Last summer, there was a reduction of 3,000 personnel in the United States, followed by a slightly larger layoff in Europe earlier this year.
Shares of F are up 0.51% during morning trading on Tuesday.