The US car manufacturer Ford Motor Co. announced on Friday it will launch an attrition program in its three factories in Brazil.

The program aimed at adjusting the number of workers to the current production levels, which were significantly affected by a reduction in exports due to the global economic downturn, Ford said.

The company, the fourth-largest light vehicles manufacturer in Brazil, offered a compensation of 10,000 reais (US$4,366) for the workers who join the program, plus health insurance for three months or another 750 reais (US$327).

The employees who have work-related health problems were offered a compensation of 15,000 reais (US$6,550) plus one year of health insurance, or an additional 3,000 reais (US$1,310).

The company did not establish a target for the program and did not say how many workers are expected to join it. Currently Ford employs a total of 10,200 workers in Brazil.

Ford's exports fell 19 percent in 2008 from 2007. In January 2009, the company's exports plunged to 673 units, but recovered in February, reaching 4,458 units, up from 4,245 units in the same period last year.

The attrition program is not the first effort by Ford to mitigate the impacts of the international financial crisis. In December 2008, the company granted collective vacations to all 8,800 employees of its factory in Camacari, Bahia state; in February, 800 workers of the Sao Bernardo do Campo factory were sacked.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2009)