DEARBORN—Ford Motor Co.'s financing arm recently announced that it plans to cut about 2,000 salaried jobs in the United States and Canada as it consolidates operations.

Ford Motor Credit said it would fold its 59 U.S. branches into six existing service centers by the end of 2007. A similar structure is being considered for Canada, which has seven branches and one service center, the company said.

The 2,000 job cuts, which the company said would be achieved through attrition, early retirements and layoffs, amount to a 23 percent reduction of its 8,600-person work force in the U.S. and Canada.

Ford Credit spokeswoman Chris Solie said the job cuts will be completed by the end of 2007.

The six consolidated centers will manage all back-office functions. Sales employees who work directly with dealers will remain in local markets.

Solie said the job cuts are completely separate from Ford Motor's own restructuring. The automaker said earlier this month that it would slash 10,000 white-collar jobs by the end of 2008 and offer buyouts to all unionized employees.

Ford Credit has restructured operations in North America and several other countries over the past decade. Since 2003, it has closed about 110 branches in the U.S. and Canada