Ford Motor is making preparations for a fresh wave of layoffs targeting its salaried workforce in the United States, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

In March of last year, the company unveiled its intentions to decrease structural expenses by a maximum of $3 billion within its gas-powered vehicle division. Subsequently, in August, Ford disclosed its decision to eliminate a combined total of 3,000 salaried and contract positions, with a primary focus on North America and India.

As per the WSJ report, the forthcoming layoffs are anticipated to impact employees across multiple divisions of the Detroit automaker, including gas, electric-vehicle, and software departments. However, specific details regarding the number of job reductions remain undisclosed.

Ford has yet to provide a comment in response to a request from Reuters. This move by the automaker to optimize its operations follows similar actions by Stellantis NV and General Motors, who have announced employee buyout programs.

Despite the challenge posed by increased costs of raw materials, automakers have managed to navigate certain inflationary pressures with the aid of price hikes and robust demand for new vehicles.

As environmentally-friendly vehicles become more prevalent in the mainstream, automakers have been actively working to manage costs associated with their electric vehicle operations, which are known for being expensive to run.