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Ford Calls for Job Cuts, Plant Closings As It Reports Loss
CEO Sees 'Dramatic Restructuring'
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 21, 2005; Page D03
Ford Motor Co. reported a $1.2 billion third-quarter loss in its core North American division and warned that it would begin another major overhaul in January with "top-to-bottom" job cuts and "significant" plant closings.
Ford's announcement came days after General Motors Corp. announced its own restructuring plans. The carmakers' troubles have tipped the nation's biggest auto-parts supplier into bankruptcy protection and put pressure on unionized workers to make concessions. Responding to a sustained slide in market share, the auto companies are undertaking two of the largest restructurings in years. GM and Ford are aiming to be smaller, lower-cost producers with fewer plants and fewer workers.
Declining sales of large trucks and SUVs contributed to a third-quarter loss of $284 million for Ford Motor Co. Its North American division lost $1.2 billion. (By Kirsten Luce -- Bloomberg News)
William Clay Ford Jr., Ford's chairman and chief executive, said the industry's changes are painful but necessary. "In the most open market in the world, the landscape is constantly changing," Ford said. "Our industry is beginning a dramatic restructuring which is sorely needed."
Executives at Ford and GM said the collapse of the market for large sport-utility vehicles has hastened the pace of the industry's revamping this year. Ford yesterday said the future arrived faster than the automaker had anticipated because of the sharp rise in fuel prices. He said the company is tackling cost-cutting with a "renewed sense of urgency." He said Ford's management team would outline its restructuring plans in January.