By Doug Cunningham

Workers at Ford Motor Company are facing the hard choice of deciding whether or not to accept a buyout package offered by Ford. As they ponder the severance offers, Ford is reporting a third-quarter operating loss of $5.8 billion. Two billion of that represents North American automotive losses. Some $4.6 billion are one-time costs of offering the buyouts and a re-evaluation of financial assets. Ford workers are facing a round of plant closings and must decide by November 27th whether or not to accept buyout offers to leave their jobs. Ford plans to slash 44,000 jobs as it closes several North American factories. It’s part of a sea change in the U.S. auto industry as solid union automotive jobs disappear by the tens of thousands.