San Francisco, Aug 23 (IANS): The US-based car maker Ford Motor has reportedly confirmed that it is laying off roughly 3,000 employees and contract workers, with the cuts primarily affecting staff in the US, Canada and India.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Ford sent an internal email to employees, saying it would begin notifying affected salaried and agency workers this week of the cuts.

About 2,000 of the targeted cuts will be salaried jobs at Dearborn, Michigan. The remaining 1,000 employees are working in contract positions with outside agencies, the company said.

The email, signed by Executive Chairman Bill Ford and Chief Executive Jim Farley, said Ford is changing the way it operates and redeploying resources as it embraces new technologies that were not previously core to its operations, such as developing advanced software for its vehicles.

The job cuts are effective September 1, a spokesman said.

Farley has said recently that Ford has too many employees, and that the existing workforce doesn't have the expertise needed to transition to a portfolio of electric, software-laden vehicles.

He has said he aims to cut $3 billion in annual costs by 2026 to reach a 10 per cent pretax profit margin by then, up from 7.3 per cent last year.

Several media outlets reported in July that layoffs were coming for white-collar staff as part of a broader restructuring to sharpen the car company's focus on electric vehicles and the batteries that power them.