The chief designer for the Ford Flex crossover car, Richard Gresens has left Ford Motor Co., but reason behind this remains unclear.

Although some sources assume that Gresens’ departure was related to company’s effort to cut salaried jobs. Ford has been in the process of reducing salary- related costs by 15 percent in North America by August 1. Sources say Gresens could have found himself a casualty of Ford’s recent restructuring effort.

Ford spokeswoman, Charlotte Fisher confirmed the news but declined to comment on the reason for Gresens’ step-out as well as layoff.

Ford has not revealed how many jobs it is trying to shed in an effort to meet its cost-cutting goal. Since 2005, Ford has slashed 51,000 jobs.

The Ford Flex, designed by Gresens started arriving in dealer showrooms last month. The electric car is being built in Oakville, Ontario. It has made several positive-impressive headlines since its debut. Its boxy design, complete with Ford’s three-bar grille, Mini Cooper-style roof and side-door grooves.

Flex offers spacious seating for up to seven passengers and a host of class-leading technologies, such as an integrated refrigerator between the second-row seats; SYNC, which is an advanced in-car system developed by Ford and Microsoft that voice-activates Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and MP3 players; Easy Fuel™ capless fuel filler; ambient lighting and a reverse camera system.

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