AUTOS

Ford to Boost Bonuses, Raises: A day after General Motors Corp. offered bonuses to salaried employees, Ford Motor Co. said its own salaried work force will get bonuses of up to $1,600 and a bigger pool of money for merit raises next year. The “flexible” bonuses, which can be taken in cash, put into savings plans or used to pay health care premiums, will be $600 higher than bonuses employees received in 1993, the Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker said. The increase is part of an improved 1994 pay and benefit package for Ford’s 44,000 U.S. salaried workers. Last week, the United Auto Workers signed a three-year contract with Ford that preserves fully paid health care benefits and improves wages, pensions and job security benefits for about 97,000 hourly workers at plants in the United States.