DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is likely to put salaried employees on rotating unpaid furloughs if the coronavirus crisis lasts beyond early May, CEO Jim Hackett said.
Speaking to WWJ-AM in Detroit on Tuesday, Hackett said Ford still hopes to make it through the pandemic without taking such actions. He mentioned moves Ford took last week, including deferring executive compensation, delaying raises and cutting overtime.
“I’m trying to keep everything status quo, but as time goes on, I’ll have to make more changes,” Hackett said. “This furlough idea is probably the best one. Using furloughs is a smart way where you can dial down some of the compensation. It’s painful, but the jobs aren’t in question. Then as you get through it, you dial back up the pay. That would be the next thing we would do.”
General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles already have said they would defer 20 percent of salaried employees’ pay, giving them the lost earnings at a later date. In addition, GM said 6,500…
