FORD workers in the UK are expected to escape the axe, after the US motor giant announced plans to shed 35,000 jobs worldwide.

The car manufacturer is closing five production plants in the US and shedding the jobs as part of a "painful" restructuring plan.

It also plans to cease production of five models.

But Tom Malcolm, a spokesman for Ford in the UK, said: "The UK is expecting to be unaffected by these latest cuts. We went through our job losses two years ago when almost 11,000 jobs were cut from Ford's UK workforce."

Ford chief executive William Clay Ford said the restructuring was designed to return the world's number two carmaker to profitability.

He said: "We strayed from what got us to the top of the mountain, and it cost us greatly. This is a painful, but necessary restructuring."

Plants to be closed are in New Jersey, St Louis, Cleveland, Dearborn, and Ontario in Canada.

Vehicles to be dropped are the Escort, Cougar, Villager and Lincoln Continental, the luxury model that was once one of the most sought-after cars in the US.

The plan also includes the suspension of bonuses for company managers.

For Ford, the need to restructure so severely represents a complete change from its position just a year ago, when it reported a £4.6bn profit for 2000.

In the third quarter of 2001, Ford lost £478m and when it releases its fourth quarter financial statement next week, it is expected to report its third straight losing quarter.

Mr Ford, who said he would be taking no salary as part of the plans, added: "For most of the last decade the Ford Motor Company was on a roll.

"The great success we enjoyed may have caused us to underestimate the strength of our competitors."

The cutbacks are part of plans by Ford to cut costs by between £2.7bn and £3.4bn.

But yesterday's announcement was worse than many had anticipated.

Sales of Ford cars dropped by six per cent in 2001, despite continued good sales of its Explorer and Escape sport utility vehicles.

In July, a major shake-up, saw Nick Scheele, the man who turned around the company's European operations, taking over North American operations.