Ford Credit says restructuring to cost $290 million

Ford Motor Credit Co., the finance subsidiary of Ford Motor Co., said today a previously announced restructuring plan would result in charges of $290 million, including $200 million to fund job cuts.

Ford Credit said it had booked $33 million of the costs in 2006, with the balance to be expensed this year.

The disclosure, in a regulatory filing, is the first time Ford Credit has detailed the costs of a plan announced last September to cut 2,000 jobs -- about a quarter of its staff in North America -- and close 59 branch offices in the United States.

Ford Credit said in September that it could not estimate the cost of the restructuring at that time.

It said it made the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday because it had reached an estimate of the full charges associated with the cost-cutting plan.

Ford Credit said that of the $200 million charge for job cuts, $29 million was accrued last year. It said "substantially all of the balance" would be accrued in the first quarter of this year.

The job cuts announced last year by Ford's finance arm came in addition to the automaker's plan to cut 14,000 salaried jobs from its loss-making North American auto operations as it works to adjust to a declining share of the market for cars and trucks.

The No. 2 U.S. automaker, which posted a record $12.7 billion loss last year, has also had 37,000 factory workers accept buyout and early retirement offers.