Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. said its second-quarter loss was $254 million, more than double the $123 million it reported two weeks ago, because of pension costs related to North American job cuts.

Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, in a regulatory filing today also changed its 2006 outlook to a loss for its Premier Automotive Group of European luxury brands. Ford said the company's per-share net loss for the quarter was 14 cents, rather than the 7 cents reported July 20.

The restatement is the second in as many days for Detroit's money-losing automakers. General Motors Corp., Ford's larger U.S. rival, yesterday said its second-quarter net loss was $3.4 billion, $200 million more than initially reported, because of a charge tied to the sale of its finance unit. Both companies are scaling back after yielding U.S. sales and market share to Asian automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.

``Ford is in worse shape than GM right now,'' said consultant Maryann Keller, president Maryann Keller & Associates in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``There is a dearth of seasoned management. As far as product, they've got to catch up in passenger cars while they also face new pickups from GM and Toyota that are going to hurt their most profitable vehicle.''

Earlier today, Ford announced that it had hired former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive Kenneth Leet as a strategic adviser. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer William Clay Ford Jr., 49, and work with senior management.

Pension Costs

Ford said its loss widened because of an increased estimate of pension-curtailment costs. Ford had reported $205 million in such expenses in its results last month, saying they reflect early retirements and enhanced benefits in its U.S. pension plan for hourly workers. The increase is related to Ford's plan to cut jobs in North America, spokeswoman Becky Sanch said today.

``This is not good form, but it's not catastrophic.'' said Jim Sanfilippo, an analyst with Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. ``Ford is being absolutely transparent,'' he said. ``They did exactly what they should do.''

Ford, of Dearborn, Michigan, changed its forecast for Premier because July sales were less than the company expected, Sanch also said in an interview. Premier is made up of Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin.

Premier Vision

Ford's earlier forecast was for Premier to be just above break-even for the year before taxes and some costs. Bill Ford's first restructuring plan, announced in January 2002, called for Premier to account for one-third of the company's profits by mid- decade.

Ford will provide more details on the pension costs in its second-quarter filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Sanch said. Ford in today's filing with the SEC raised its full-year estimate for the costs to $1.2 billion from $1 billion. Such expenses were $414 million in the first quarter, Ford said in a May U.S. filing.

Leet, 48, will conduct a review of Ford assets and brands, people familiar with the plan said earlier today. The review resulted from pressure by Ford directors and will include the profitable Ford Motor Credit Co. unit and money-losing Jaguar, one of the people said. They asked not to be named because they spoke before the announcement.

Second Restructuring

Bill Ford in January announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs and close 14 manufacturing facilities in North America by 2012. As part of that plan, Ford Motor has been offering buyouts and early retirements at some plants, including factories slated to be shut. The automaker also is offering buyouts to some workers at plants it took back from Visteon Corp., its former parts unit, in October 2005.

Ford shares rose 38 cents, or 5.8 percent, to $6.96 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, before the revised earnings were announced. They have fallen 9.8 percent this year and last month traded at 14-year lows.

Ford's 7.45 note due in 2031 rose one cent to 75 cents on the dollar, yielding 10.2 percent, according to Trace, the NASD's bond-price reporting service.

The U.S. is the largest market for Premier's European-based luxury brands. In July, Jaguar sales fell 30 percent and Volvo's 10 percent while Land Rover rose 15 percent. The automaker doesn't disclose monthly U.S. sales figures for Aston Martin, which builds sports cars costing more than $100,000.

Subdued Cat

Ford doesn't specify profits by brands. The company said in January that all the Premier brands except Jaguar made money in 2005. The automaker acquired Jaguar in 1989. Two year ago, Ford announced a restructuring plan for Jaguar that included firing 1,150 workers and closing a U.K. factory.

``They have not succeeded in improving Jaguar in 17 years,'' analyst Keller said.

Ford previously said it expects to complete about 11,000 buyouts this year in the U.S. Ford is offering employees represented by the United Auto Workers union five buyout options. They include two ``non-traditional'' plans.

One of the non-traditional offers is for $15,000 annually for four years of college, full medical benefits and half the employees' regular pay while they go to school. Another option for younger employees is a $100,000 payout without health benefits.

Ford so far has identified half of the 14 North American plants it intends to close, including five vehicle-assembly plants. A St. Louis plant that produced the Explorer sport- utility vehicle shut down earlier this year. A factory in Atlanta will be closed in the fourth quarter, and the Taurus sedan produced there is being discontinued.

A factory in Wixom, Michigan, is scheduled to shut next year followed by plants in Norfolk, Virginia, and St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2008.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bennett in Southfield, Michigan, at jbennett17@Bloomberg.net; Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan, at wkoenig@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 2, 2006 19:20 EDT