Ford to cut 3,000 jobs in India, North America as it races to catch up with Tesla in EV future

FILE PHOTO: A row of new Ford F-250 pickup trucks are parked for sale at a Ford dealer in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colorado April 14, 2011. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)/File Photo

Ford Motor on August 22 said it will slash a total of 3,000 jobs in various salary segments, mostly in India and North America as it races to catch up with Tesla Inc to develop a software future for electric vehicles, according to a report.

Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley has been signaling for months that he believed the Dearborn, Michigan automaker had too many people, and that not enough of its workforce had the skills required for success as the auto industry shifts to electric vehicles and digital services, reported news agency Reuters.

As per a Wall Street Journal report, about 2,000 of the targeted cuts will be salaried jobs at the Dearborn and the remaining 1,000 employees are working in contract positions with outside agencies.

"We are eliminating work, as well as reorganizing and simplifying functions throughout the business. You will hear more specifics from the leaders of your area of the business later this week," Farley and Ford Chairman Bill Ford wrote in a joint email, reported Reuters.

Back in India, Tata Motors had earlier this month announced that it has inked a pact to acquire Ford India's Sanand-based manufacturing plant for Rs 725.7 crore, as it aims to bolster its passenger vehicle production capacity. As part of the deal, the country's largest automaker would get the entire land and buildings, vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment situated therein.

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEML) will make the necessary investments to reconfigure the plant to adapt to Tata Motors' existing and future vehicle platforms, the automaker had said earlier.

To recall, Ford India had in September last year announced that it would stop vehicle production at its two plants in the country as part of a restructuring exercise.