The following is a summary of the eight separation packages offered to Ford's hourly employees during 2006 and 2007.

1. Special Retirement Incentive – For employees with 30 years of service or more, or who are at least 55 years old with age and service added together equaling at least 85, or who are at least 65 with one or more years of service. Financial incentive of $35,000 pre-tax payment.
2. Special Early Retirement – For employees who have reached age 50, but not normal retirement age, and who have 10 or more years of credited service under the Ford-UAW retirement plan. Provides unreduced life income benefits for the life of the retiree, and temporary benefits payable until age 62 and one month.
3. Pre-Retirement Leave Program – For employees with at least 28, but less than 30 years of credited service. Ends with retirement when the employee reaches 30 years of service. Employees will receive 85 percent of straight-time pay and all fringe benefits available to an employee in protected status. After they reach 30 years of service, they would receive their regular retirement.
4. Special Termination of Employment Program – Employees with at least one year of service receive a pre-tax payment of $100,000 and 6 months of basic healthcare. Retirement eligible employees must wait 23 months before retiring.
5. Educational Opportunity Program – For employees with at least one year of service, includes tuition reimbursement for up to $15,000 per year for up to four years paid directly to the approved college or vocational school, and an annual stipend worth 50 percent of the employee's annualized straight-time wage rate. Health insurance and certain other benefits continue during this four-year period, but participants must enroll in school full time (at least 12 credit hours per semester) and maintain a "C" average to remain eligible. Benefits and the living expense stipend end after four years, if the employee chooses to opt out of the program, or when the employee receives their degree/certification/license.
6. Enhanced Special Termination of Employment Program – Under this program, Ford-UAW employees with at least 30 years of credited service under the Ford-UAW Retirement Plan or who are at least 55 years old with at least 10 years of credited service will receive a lump sum pre-tax payment of $140,000. Retirement may take place immediately, and workers electing this option will receive any pension benefits for which they are eligible at that time, based on length of service. They also will be provided with basic health care coverage for a period of six months, but will be ineligible for post-retirement health care and life insurance benefits.
7. Focused Education Opportunity Program – Similar to the Educational Opportunity Program described above, except that employees selecting this option will receive two years of tuition payment, up to $15,000 per year and 70 percent of wages, instead of 50 percent.
8. Family Scholarship Program – Employees electing this program agree to terminate their employment at Ford, and will receive a Scholarship Fund totaling $100,000, which can be used for approved educational expenses for their children, spouses and grandchildren. Funds will be taxed upon withdrawal. Funds will be available for a 10-year period from the employee's date of termination, and if the funds are not used within the time period, they will be forfeited.

In 2008, we continued to offer all of the above packages except the Special Retirement Incentive, which we replaced with the Enhanced Retirement Plan Incentive. We also added two new package options in 2008. The new or revised packages for 2008 are described below.

1. Enhanced Retirement Plan Incentive – For employees who have 30 or more years of credited service under the Ford-UAW Retirement Plan, or are at least age 55 and have ten or more years of credited service under the Plan, or are at least age 65 and have one or more years of credited service under the Plan. Participants receive a retirement incentive having a pre-tax value of $50,000 for production (non-skilled) employees or $70,000 for skilled trades employees.
2. Entrepreneurial Special Program 1 – For employees who have at least one but less than 25 years of seniority. Participants receive a $50,000 (pre-tax) lump-sum payment, and a five-year continuation of their present health care coverage.
3. Entrepreneurial Special Program 2 – For employees who have at least one but less than 25 years of seniority. Participants receive a $50,000 (pre-tax) lump-sum payment and seven-year basic/catastrophic health care coverage.

At each plant, we invited employees, educational institutions and prospective employers to an "Opportunity Fair," as a way to provide employees with multiple resources and available options while making decisions about leaving the Company. We also offered training to employees in searching for jobs, relocating and weighing their options, such as further education.

Our approach was to communicate extensively – to employees directly, to plant management, to the national and local UAW leadership, who represent our hourly employees, and to the affected communities.

About half of the buyouts accepted during the open enrollment period in 2007 were by employees who accepted one of the nontraditional packages, which provided options such as pre-tax lump sum payments, tuition reimbursements or scholarship funds for family members.

For example, a former parts order processor at Ford's Twin Cities High-Velocity Center in Menomonie, Wisconsin, took the $100,000 lump sum payout to pay off his college loans and move on to the next stage of his professional career. Ford had actually been helping him with school all along, providing tuition support through the Company's Education and Training Assistance Plan and allowing him to take a leave of absence for one year to concentrate on his education. Today, he is a data processor, providing consulting services for a client list of more than 1,400 financial-service providers, including 99 of the top 100 U.S. banks and 49 of the top 50 global banks.

In another example, a former forklift operator at Ford Motor Company's Chicago Stamping Plant used his buyout lump sum to follow his dream of becoming a professional chef. With the money from his buyout, he enrolled in a cooking institute affiliated with the world-renowned cooking school Le Cordon Bleu of Paris. Even before graduating, he is already serving as an assistant in the kitchen of one of Chicago Magazine's picks for the best new restaurant of 2006.