Ford Motor to cut hundreds of jobs in Europe

Ford Motor Co today said that it plans to cut hundreds of jobs in Europe as it expects a loss of $1 billion in the region amid declining sales.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based carmaker is offering voluntary buyout programmes in Germany, the UK and the rest of Europe. It's also cutting temporary salaried positions and some outsourced services.

"Ford of Europe expects the programmes to result in the reduction of several hundred salaried positions, but exact figures won't be known for a few months," Ford said in a statement.

Ford, the second-biggest US automaker, which expects to lose more than $1 billion in Europe this year, had posted a loss of $404 million in Europe during the second quarter, while third-quarter results are expected next month.

Ford said that it would implement three programmes - one in Germany, another in the UK and a third for the rest of Europe, to reduce personnel-related costs.

Ford is also looking at shuttering some plants in Europe and may use its North American restructuring model, where it closed plants, eliminated thousands of jobs and renegotiated union contracts.