DETROIT (AP) - Ford will give performance bonuses to its U.S. and Canadian salaried and hourly employees because the company made quality and cost-cutting improvements in 2006, the company said Thursday.
Ford, which lost $12.7 billion last year and has mortgaged its factories to borrow money to cover restructuring costs and losses expected until 2009, said the bonuses would range from $300 to $800 for employees below the title of manager.
The company would not reveal the size of bonuses for executives with the title of manager and above, nor would it disclose the total cost of the bonuses. Managers and above will receive more than the range of payments to lower-level workers.
The e-mail said the awards were being given because Ford workers helped the company significantly reduce costs and continue to close the quality gap with its competitors. They were made with the approval of the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers unions, the e-mail said.
Only those with a pay grade of manager or above will get the bonuses outside the U.S. and Canada, and some Ford Motor Credit Corp. employees will not get the cash depending on their compensation plan, said Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans.
The money will go to workers who were with the company as of Dec. 31, as well as workers who took buyouts but remained employed through year's end, Ford said.
Ford hasn't calculated the exact number of employees who will get the money, Evans said. The company had about 128,000 hourly and salaried workers in North America as of Dec. 31.
If all received the minimum $300 bonus, the total cost to the company would be more than $37 million.