Ford Motor Co., after posting its biggest quarterly loss in 14 years, plans to cut expenses by scaling back pay increases and health benefits for U.S. salaried workers. Ford will abolish merit-pay raises, require bigger payments for health care and reduce health-care payouts for retirees, Mark Fields, chief of the automaker's Americas unit, told employees in a memo yesterday. The changes will take effect June 1, said Marcey Evans, a spokeswoman for the No. 2 U.S. automaker.
See "Ford scaling back pay hikes, health benefits", Bill Koenig and John Lippert, November 1, 2006