Ford's chief executive, William Clay Ford Jr., called the cuts "a painful last resort." But he said the company's plan contained "the vision and strategic focus to rebuild the business. With it," Ford said, "we will retake the American roadway."

The United Automobile Workers union, which represents workers in the United States, said the announcement by Ford was "deeply disappointing and devastating" for its members.

Ford's share price closed up 42 cents, at $8.32, on the New York Stock Exchange. The cuts at Ford are taking place under a turnaround plan it is calling the Way Forward, marking its second attempt to restructure the company in the past four years.

Ford's goal is to become as nimble as Toyota and Honda, cutting through layers of bureaucracy that have stymied the development of innovative vehicles like hybrid electric cars. The plan also highlights Ford's American roots and aims to create clearer identities for its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands.

Rising gas and steel prices and strong competition from abroad have intensified the challenge to Ford and GM, already burdened by rising health-care costs, rich pension packages and other retirement benefits. More important, both companies have failed to find the right formulas to satisfy the American car buyer. The result has been a swift slide in market share. Ford, which held about 25 percent of the car market in 2000, held only 17.4 percent in 2005. Much of the drop is due to the decline in popularity of big sport utilities.

Monday's cuts at Ford affect about a third of its hourly payroll in North America, where it has 87,000 workers. The company also is cutting another 4,000 salaried employees, or about 10 percent of its white-collar force, and has pledged to reduce its executive ranks by 12 percent.

With a smaller market share, Ford has its plants in North America operating at only three-quarters capacity, sparking the company's decision Monday to close assembly plants in Wixom, Mich.; Hapeville, Ga.; and Hazelwood, Mo.

Two more assembly plants will close, Ford said, although it did not name them. The auto company also is shutting a transmission plant in Batavia, Ohio, near Cincinnati, and analysts said they expected other Ford parts plants also would shut as the company decides which assembly plants will close. Ford also is cutting one shift of workers at its plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, two hours west of Toronto.

The company held out hope for some workers, saying it planned to create a new factory somewhere in North America to build small cars at a low cost. Ford executives declined to say when the plant would be built — or whether it planned to employ unionized workers in the United States or Canada.

Foreign manufacturers, which now sell more than four of every 10 cars and trucks in the United States, have created tens of thousands of jobs at new factories from Ontario to Ohio, across the American south and in Mexico.