Ford says it will lay off 3,000 employees in the US and India

San Francisco: Ford Motor, a US-based automaker, is reportedly confirming that it is laying off about 3,000 employees and contract workers. Employees in the US, Canada, and India will be most affected by the layoffs.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ford informed staff through internal email that it will start informing affected salaried and agency workers of the layoffs this week.

In Dearborn, Michigan, there will be about 2,000 targeted job cuts that affect salaried positions. According to the company, the remaining 1,000 employees hold contract jobs with outside businesses.

The email, signed by Executive Chairman Bill Ford and Chief Executive Jim Farley, said Ford is changing the way it operates and redeploying resources as it embraces new technologies that were not previously core to its operations, such as developing advanced software for its vehicles.

The job cuts are effective September 1, a spokesman said.

Farley has said recently that Ford has too many employees, and that the existing workforce doesn't have the expertise needed to transition to a portfolio of electric, software-laden vehicles.

He has said he aims to cut $3 billion in annual costs by 2026 to reach a 10 per cent pretax profit margin by then, up from 7.3 per cent last year.

Several media outlets reported in July that layoffs were coming for white-collar staff as part of a broader restructuring to sharpen the car company's focus on electric vehicles and the batteries that power them.

With inputs from IANS