Shrink to fit

摘要

On January 23rd Ford is set to follow General Motors, announcing factory closures that will cut capacity to meet its fading share of the American market. Company insiders confirm it will lay out a plan to close a dozen assembly and parts plants, trimming up to 30,000 jobs. Most will be factory-floor jobs, but some 4,000 white-collar jobs will be eliminated— about 10% of the total-on top of 2,700 cut in 2005. Insiders suggest seven to 10 senior executives will be "encouraged to go away". Jim Padilla, the company's second-in-command and Stephen Lyons, the head of marketing, are expected to leave.