Rumors, angst and black humor rule at Ford as the company plans to axe one third of its white collar workforce by the 1st quarter of next year. 4,000 are already gone, and another 10,000 are doomed. The casualties will include engineers, designers and sales staff. Longtime employees will not be spared, although some may receive relatively favorable early retirement "buyouts". The rest are toast. "We are going to be focusing on the voluntary separation programs first and will only resort to involuntary programs if it becomes necessary," said a company spokesman.

"White-collar workers lose sense of security" from the Detroit News