The surprise move at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday took down the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world. The sprawling factory makes pricey heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large Ford and Lincoln SUVs.
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Ford sales fell 15.3% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. The company’s market share shrank to 3% from 3.5%
The largest of the probes covers about 457,000 Ford Bronco Sport SUVs and Maverick small pickups.
Electric vehicle sales in the U.S., Ford’s most profitable market, are still growing but have slowed as more practical consumers worry about range and the ability to recharge while traveling.
The recalls come after U.S. auto safety regulators in March began investigating complaints that more than 540,000 Ford pickup trucks from 2014 can abruptly downshift to a lower gear and increase the risk of a crash.
The union said last week said that nearly 9,000 workers at the massive plant in Louisville would walk picket lines starting Friday if the contract dispute was not resolved.
The United Auto Workers said nearly 9,000 workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant will strike Friday if the local contract dispute is not resolved.
Additional labor costs from the agreement will total $8.8 billion by the end of the contract, translating to about $900 per vehicle by 2028, Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a company release.
The United Auto Workers union overwhelmingly ratified new contracts with Ford and Stellantis, that along with a similar deal with General Motors will raise pay across the industry, force automakers to absorb higher costs and help reshape the auto business.
The apparently widening labor rift indicates that Ford and the UAW may be in for a lengthy strike that could cost the company and workers billions of dollars.
In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain called the move “a shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs” at a plant that’s not open yet.
The company confirmed Tuesday that it was starting to notify several hundred engineers and other salaried employees that their jobs are being eliminated. The firings come after around 200 Ford contract employees were let go last week.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company is reversing a decision to scrub AM after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about keeping emergency alerts.
Ford CEO Jim Farley says Ford will be competing differently, going for tailored ownership experiences rather than “jockeying for slivers of market share.”
Ford Motor Co.’s electric vehicle business has lost $3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year as the company invests heavily in the new technology. Those figures were released Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way of reporting financial results.
Gabby Bruno, director of economic development for Ford, said there was “no lack of competition for this project.” She said Michigan “competed against numerous states and countries” to secure the investment.
The case involved what the plaintiffs’ lawyers called dangerously defective roofs on Ford pickup trucks. Lawyers for the plaintiffs had submitted evidence of nearly 80 rollover wrecks that involved truck roofs being crushed that injured or killed motorists.
Ford would not comment on a report that it could lay off as many as 8,000 employees to cut expenses to finance its ambitious EV goals. It called the report by Bloomberg News speculation.
Ford CEO Jim Farley predicted big cost reductions are coming with new battery chemistries that use fewer expensive and scarce precious metals such as nickel and cobalt. Plus, EVs will take less time and labor to build, saving more money, he said.
Ford plans a major restructuring with two distinct but strategically interdependent auto businesses–Ford Blue focusing on traditional combustion engines and Ford Model e, which will develop electric vehicles.
Researchers say charging times for electric vehicles could eventually be on par with filling up a car at a gas station.
