DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Eligible employees at Ford Motor Company received a memo in September warning of possible losses to their lump sum retirement should they retire after Dec. 1 – and as of Wednesday roughly 1,000 employees confirmed they would retire.

The email bore the subject line “Important Information Regarding Your Pension” – and pointed to the fact that lump sum payouts after 2022 would suffer some serious losses.

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“If you are considering retiring and choosing the lump sum option, it is important to understand the impact of higher interest rates on your individual lump sum amount, should you retire after Dec. 1, 2022,” read the Ford memo, which also included a brief survey to help the company plan for employee retirements according to the Detroit Free Press.

As an example, someone who could receive a $500,000 lump sum payout in 2022 would face a loss in 2023 that could range between $100,000 to $125,000.  Many people who are working for large companies with traditional pensions are learning that higher interest rates have generated a lot of talk about pension payouts. Some automaker employees who have worked for decades at the same place with higher salaries could receive million dollar payouts, and others payouts in the range of $300,000 or $400,000.  But choosing the lump sum payout is an option and not a requirement.

“We congratulate all Ford employees who have chosen to retire this year,” Marisa Bradley, Ford spokeswoman, told the Free Press. “We are grateful for their decades of service and wish them the very best as they become Ford alumni. As we transition the work, we are excited for the growth and development this will present for our remaining employees.”

Bradley said that the latest retirements will take down the total salaried workers to 28,000 in the U.S.  Though globally the company employs roughly 176,000 people.

One Ford veteran, Chief Program Engineer Andy Slankard, bid a farewell via Linkedin.com

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“I could not be more appreciative of Ford Motor Company leadership to provide me the opportunity to learn and experience a wide variety roles in the automotive world,” he said, “It has been a great ride.  However, what I will remember most are the friendships, working relationship, and general passion of the people I met from all over the world. The #automotive business is fantastic.”

There is not a single department that has been only affected by the retirements according to Bradley, but the company has not disclosed specific details related to retirees.