Ford Motor Co.'s hourly work force is shrinking to half its current size, following the announcement last Wednesday that 38,000 hourly workers have agreed to accept early retirement or buyout packages, The Associated Press reported. But that still might not be enough to revive the nation's second-largest automaker, which is downsizing in the face of multibillion-dollar losses and fierce competition from Asian carmakers, AP said. Having expected 25,000 to 30,000 workers to sign up during an open enrollment period that expired Nov. 27, the new reduction figure would amount to nearly 46% of the 83,000 unionized employees that Ford had at the start of the year, AP said. Now, analysts say, Ford needs to rekindle interest in its cars and reclaim some market share lost to Asian competitors, according to AP. Ford lost $7 billion in the first nine months of the year, and the company last Monday announced that it plans to get about $18 billion in financing due to negative operating cash flow and to pay for its restructuring. Ford's share of the market has declined from around 26% in the early 1990s to 17.6% at the end of October, AP said. The automaker said last Wednesday it expects to post cumulative cash outflows of about $17 billion during the 2007 to 2009 period. L&MT
