DETROIT: Ford has cut 7,000 white-collar workers globally, saving about $600 million per year.

Ford said that it will cut 2, 300 jobs through buyouts and layoffs in the United States. About 1,500 have left voluntarily or with buyouts, while another 300 have already been laid off. About 500 workers will be let go starting this week, largely in and around the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, just outside Detroit. All will get severance packages, said the company.

The layoffs are coming across a broad swath of the company including engineering, product development, marketing, information technology, logistics, finance and other areas. But the company also said it is hiring in some critical areas including those developing software and dealing with self-driving and electric vehicles.

In a memo to employees, Monday, CEO Jim Hackett said the fourth and final wave of the restructuring will start on Tuesday, with the majority of US cuts being finished by May 24. (Agencies)