Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday its U.S. salaried employees would be required to submit their vaccination status against COVID-19 by Oct. 8 and that it had asked its hourly employees to do the same.

Ford follows rival General Motors Co in asking for vaccination status of its employees but not mandating the shots.

"This will aid our efforts to comply with federal COVID-19 vaccination requirements," Ford said in a statement.

UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg confirmed that the process is voluntary for union's hourly members who work at the company.

Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley said in an interview with CNBC that the company's leadership team was vaccinated against COVID-19 and that it was conducting a survey to find out how many employees were vaccinated.