"This is a structural issue, not a cyclical issue. It's not going to come back fast and we're not going to be saved by volume," Ford's chief executive Alan Mulally said.
Ford (IW 500/6) said Tuesday it was planning to cut "several hundred" salaried positions from its workforce in Europe, but that all the cuts would be voluntary.
"The reductions will be achieved through a combination of voluntary Ford salaried staff separations, and reductions in expenditure on agency workers and purchased services," Ford Motor Co. said in a statement.
Ford called the cuts part of an ongoing program "to achieve greater efficiencies in all areas of the Ford of Europe business in the current business environment."
"Ford of Europe expects the programs to result in the reduction of several hundred salaried positions, but exact figures won't be known for a few months."
Ford currently employs about 66,000 workers in Europe, the largest proportion of them in Germany.
All the major automakers operating in Europe have been undertaking staff reductions to cope with the contracting European economy and a sizable production overcapacity.
