New Products, Leaner Structure Further Define Turnaround
North America 'Way Forward' plan accelerated to deliver faster progress
through 2008:
- Operating costs to be reduced by approximately $5 billion, including:
- Salaried-related work force reduced by a third, the equivalent of
about 14,000 positions.
- Ford, UAW leadership agree on buyout offers for all U.S. Ford and
ACH hourly employees.
- Further manufacturing capacity reductions planned.
- All ACH operations to be sold or closed by the end of 2008.
- More products to be delivered faster, including:
- 70 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products by volume will be
new or significantly upgraded between now and the end of 2008.
- Ford's truck leadership is fortified.
- Growth segments, including crossovers, are prioritized.
- All-new Ford full-size crossover to go on sale in 2008.
Ford Motor Company's financial outlook is revised:
- Full-year automotive profitability in North America not expected
before 2009.
- South America and Ford of Europe still expected to be solidly
profitable in 2006. However, full-year operating losses now expected
in 2006 for Asia Pacific and Africa, and the Premier Automotive Group.
- Ford Motor Company's 2006 year-end liquidity is expected to include
automotive gross cash of about $20 billion, including the effects of
$3.4 billion of VEBA.
- Ford Motor Company's Board indicates that it will suspend payment of
the quarterly dividend on its common and Class B Stock beginning in
the fourth quarter of 2006.
DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford Motor Company
(NYSE: F) today announced plans to further reduce its capacity and work force,
and ramp up new product introductions as it accelerates its North America "Way
Forward" turnaround plan.
Ford will cut its North American salaried-related work force by about a
third and offer buyout packages to all Ford and Automotive Components Holdings
(ACH) hourly employees in the U.S. The reductions will contribute
significantly to reducing ongoing annual operating costs by about $5 billion.
In addition, Ford will renew 70 percent of its North American product lineup
by volume by the end of 2008.
The announcements are being made this morning in an employee address led
by Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, President and Chief Executive Officer
Alan Mulally, President of The Americas Mark Fields and Chief Financial
Officer Don Leclair.
"These actions have painful consequences for communities and many of our
loyal employees," said Bill Ford. "But rapid shifts in consumer demand that
affect our product mix and continued high prices for commodities mean we must
continue working quickly and decisively to fix our business. Mark Fields and
his team deserve credit for the accelerated Way Forward strategy, which puts
us on an even faster product-driven path to success.
"Alan Mulally's experience in turning around a major industrial company
will help guide the implementation of these measures as he assumes leadership
of the company," Bill Ford continued. "The actions we announce today -
coupled with the North American production cuts we announced last month, the
strategic alternatives we are considering for Aston Martin and a push for
greater progress from our operating units and brands around the world - are
part of a series of actions that Alan and our entire global team will be
taking to put the company on a path to sustained profitability and success."
Mulally, whose appointment as CEO of Ford was announced last week, echoed
support for the Way Forward plan and for the team leading the company's North
American turnaround.
"The steps we are announcing today are clearly needed to ensure the
ultimate turnaround of the business in Ford's biggest and most important
market," Mulally said. "Although the process has been under way for months, I
have had a chance to review these actions and am convinced that they provide
the sound, product-led underpinnings and cost reductions we will need to
achieve our goals. I look forward to helping with the implementation.
"Turnarounds of this magnitude succeed when capacity and costs are aligned
with a realistic expectation of demand," Mulally continued. "These actions
are certainly consistent with that goal. We will focus intensely on the needs
of our customers in North America, and around the world, by pulling forward
new products and creating new markets. We are a team united by a shared
vision to build the best automobiles in the world at Ford Motor Company."
Fields said the Way Forward plan will continue to focus every part of the
business on the customer - building stronger Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands;
strengthening the company's North American product lineup; improving quality,
and accelerating progress on productivity and competitive costs.
"The fundamentals of our Way Forward plan have not changed, but our
timetable has changed dramatically," said Fields. "We've taken a sobering
look at the industry and our own business, and the entire team in North
America has a renewed sense of urgency and a clear view of what it will take
to position this business for profitability.
"We know our decisions bring more pain to the business in the short-term,
and they require sacrifice from our employees, labor unions, dealers and
suppliers," he added. "But, together, we are building a much stronger Ford
Motor Company and a more secure future for us all."
Fields said the team will continue to push to move further and faster
throughout the business.
"Our work is far from over. We recognize that the competitive landscape
and cost pressures have significantly challenged our traditional business
model, and that recognition is driving more investment in small cars and
crossovers, even as we continue to position ourselves to remain the truck
leader," Fields said. "We will remain quick and decisive in executing our Way
Forward plan and flexible in reacting to changing conditions in the future."
Market share declines, reflecting primarily segment shifts, and higher-
than-planned raw material costs will mean full-year profitability for Ford's
North American auto operations is not expected before 2009.
"Clearly, we could have cut product programs and maintained our goal of
North American profitability in 2008," Fields said. "But, even as we further
reduce our costs and capacity and make tough-but-necessary decisions
throughout our business, we cannot and will not retreat from the critical
investments to deliver the right products for our customers."
A summary of the North America Way Forward actions to be implemented by
the end of 2008 and resulting financial impact follows.
Product-Led Turnaround
* 70 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products by volume will be new
or significantly upgraded from today through the end of 2008. The new
lineup builds on Ford's strength as America's truck leader while
expanding in growth segments, such as crossovers.
* Ford will introduce an all-new full-size crossover based on the Ford
Fairlane concept. The seven-passenger vehicle for modern families goes
on sale in 2008 and will be produced at Ford's Oakville (Ontario,
Canada) Assembly Plant.
* Ford will continue to lead the American truck market with a new Super
Duty pickup confirmed to go on sale in early 2007 and an all-new F-150
pickup confirmed to go on sale in 2008. The vehicles boast powertrain,
design and feature upgrades.
* Ford will continue to lead America's sports car market with new Mustang
derivatives each year.
* The new Lincoln MKS flagship sedan will go on sale in 2008 - packed
with more technology and features than any prior Lincoln, including
all-wheel drive. Current plans are to produce the vehicle at the
company's Chicago Assembly Plant.
* Lincoln will continue offering the Lincoln Town Car to meet ongoing
demand. After assembly ends at Ford's Wixom (Mich.) Assembly Plant in
2007, Ford intends to move Town Car production to Ford's St. Thomas
(Ontario, Canada) Assembly Plant. St. Thomas will be reduced to one
shift of production, as previously was announced.
* Product development work is intensifying through 2008 on creating new
small cars and even more crossovers that will go on sale in the future.
These vehicles will be based on the company's global vehicle
architectures, including "B" and "C" platforms not presently used in
North America.
* Major investments continue in new gasoline, flexible-fuel, diesel,
hydrogen and hybrid powertrains, including additional E-85 ethanol-
powered and hybrid vehicles on the road by the end of 2008. In
addition, two out of every three Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles
will be offered with fuel-saving 6-speed transmission technology by the
end of 2008.
* The new products and a voluntary consolidation of the Ford and Lincoln
Mercury dealer network are designed to significantly improve the
dealers' through-put and profitability by the end of 2008.
Accelerated Cost Savings, Leaner Structure, Improved Efficiency
* Compared with 2005, annual operating costs will be reduced by about $5
billion by the end of 2008.
-- Salaried-related costs will be reduced through the elimination of the
equivalent of about 14,000 salaried-related positions, which
represents approximately a third of Ford's North American salaried
work force. The reduction includes the equivalent of 4,000 positions
eliminated in the first quarter of 2006. The additional reductions
will be achieved through early retirements, voluntary separations and,
if necessary, involuntary separations - with most employees expected
to depart by the end of the first quarter in 2007.
-- An agreement with the UAW will expand early retirement offers and
separation packages to all Ford U.S. hourly employees, including Ford
employees at the company's ACH plants. Employees will begin receiving
details by mid-October, and those accepting offers will leave the
company by September 2007.
-- Ford will accelerate by four years its previously announced goal of
reducing 25,000 to 30,000 North American manufacturing employees by
the end of 2012. The reductions now will be completed by the end of
2008.
-- The sale or closure of all ACH facilities by the end of 2008 will
result in additional employee reductions.
-- Ford continues to work with the UAW to improve the competitiveness of
its U.S. manufacturing facilities. As a result, new competitive
operating agreements have been ratified by UAW locals in 30 different
U.S. Ford and ACH facilities - and nearly $600 million in annual
savings is projected to be realized.
Capacity Further Aligned with Consumer Demand
* North America manufacturing capacity is being adjusted to 3.6 million
units by the end of 2008, down 26 percent versus 2005 - in line with
consumer demand and as announced earlier.
* Nine facilities will be idled and cease production through 2008,
including seven already announced. The two additional plants are the
Maumee (Ohio) Stamping Plant and the Essex (Ontario, Canada) Engine
Plant.
* Ford's Norfolk (Va.) Assembly Plant will be idled a year earlier than
planned, and a shift reduction, in advance of idling the facilities,
now is planned at Norfolk and Twin Cities (Minn.) Assembly.
* Facilities affected by the end of 2008 include the following:
-- Atlanta Assembly - to be idled in October 2006
-- Batavia Transmission - to be idled in 2008
-- Essex Engine - to cease operations in 2007
-- Maumee Stamping - intended to be idled in 2008
-- Norfolk Assembly - to be idled in 2007, a year earlier than
previously planned, with a shift reduction planned in January 2007
-- St. Louis Assembly - already idled in March 2006
-- Twin Cities Assembly - to be idled in 2008, with a shift reduction
planned in 2007
-- Windsor Casting - to be idled in 2007
-- Wixom Assembly - to be idled in 2007
* Dearborn Truck Plant will add a third crew, beginning in 2007, for
F-150 truck production.
* All ACH operations will be sold or closed by the end of 2008.
* Including Maumee Stamping and Essex Engine, Ford has announced plans to
cease production at 16 North American manufacturing facilities by the
end of 2012, including seven assembly plants.
Financial Impact
"Though North America's return to profitability will take longer than
planned, the actions we're taking are the right ones, and are fundamental and
necessary steps to improving our business structure," said Leclair, the
company's CFO. "The planned improvements in our auto operations, in
conjunction with Ford Credit - which remains a core asset - will leave us
well-positioned for the future.
"We are starting from a position of strong liquidity, including our cash,
credit lines and VEBA," Leclair added. "We will continue to focus on
enhancing our liquidity, building upon our decision to explore strategic
alternatives for Aston Martin and the board's intent to eliminate our
quarterly dividend."
Automotive Operations
* Full-year pre-tax special items for 2006 are expected to be
significantly increased from the $3.8 billion we estimated previously
to reflect the accelerated Way Forward actions. Further details will
be provided when Ford announces Third Quarter financial results next
month.
* Full-year profitability in North American automotive operations not
expected before 2009.
* Ford and Lincoln Mercury U.S. market share is projected to be in the
low-16 percent range at the end of 2006.
* A further share decline is expected as production of the Ford Taurus
sedan and Mercury Monterey minivan ends in 2006 and production of the
Ford Freestar minivan ends in 2007. The end of these vehicles will
reduce the company's sales to daily rental fleets.
* With the investment in new products and improvements in quality, Ford
expects to be in the 14 to 15 percent market share range going forward
- with a focus on profitable retail share.
* South America and Ford of Europe still are expected to be solidly
profitable in 2006. However, full-year operating losses now are
expected in 2006 for Asia Pacific and Africa, as well as the Premier
Automotive Group - primarily reflecting lower volumes.
Liquidity
* Ford Motor Company's 2006 year-end liquidity is expected to include
automotive gross cash of about $20 billion, including marketable and
loaned securities and the effects of $3.4 billion of VEBA. The company
will continue to have committed automotive credit facilities totaling
more than $6 billion.
* Ford Motor Company's Board indicates that it will suspend payment of
the quarterly dividend on its common and Class B Stock beginning in the
fourth quarter of 2006.
Sept. 15, 2006
Safe Harbor/Risk Factors
Statements included or incorporated by reference herein may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on
expectations, forecasts and assumptions by our management and involve a number
of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those stated, including, without limitation:
* Continued decline in market share;
* Continued or increased price competition resulting from industry
overcapacity, currency fluctuations or other factors;
* A market shift (or an increase in or acceleration of market shift) away
from sales of trucks or sport utility vehicles, or from sales of other
more profitable vehicles, in the United States;
* A significant decline in industry sales, particularly in the United
States or Europe, resulting from slowing economic growth, geo-political
events (e.g., an escalation or expansion of armed conflict in or beyond
the Middle East) or other factors;
* Lower-than-anticipated market acceptance of new or existing products;
* Continued or increased high prices for or reduced availability of fuel;
* Currency or commodity price fluctuations;
* Adverse effects from the bankruptcy or insolvency of, change in
ownership or control of, or alliances entered into by a major
competitor;
* Economic distress of suppliers that has in the past and may in the
future require us to provide financial support or take other measures
to ensure supplies of components or materials;
* Work stoppages at Ford or supplier facilities or other interruptions of
supplies;
* Single-source supply of components or materials;
* Labor or other constraints on our ability to restructure our business;
* Worse-than-assumed economic and demographic experience for our
postretirement benefit plans (e.g., discount rates, investment returns,
and health care cost trends);
* The discovery of defects in vehicles resulting in delays in new model
launches, recall campaigns or increased warranty costs;
* Increased safety, emissions, fuel economy or other (e.g., pension
funding) regulation resulting in higher costs, cash expenditures,
and/or sales restrictions;
* Unusual or significant litigation or governmental investigations
arising out of alleged defects in our products or otherwise;
* A change in our requirements for parts or materials where we have
entered into long-term supply arrangements that commit us to purchase
minimum or fixed quantities of certain parts or materials, or to pay a
minimum amount to the seller ("take-or-pay contracts");
* Inability to access debt or securitization markets around the world at
competitive rates or in sufficient amounts due to additional credit
rating downgrades or otherwise;
* Higher-than-expected credit losses;
* Increased competition from banks or other financial institutions
seeking to increase their share of financing Ford vehicles;
* Changes in interest rates;
* Collection and servicing problems related to finance receivables and
net investment in operating leases;
* Lower-than-anticipated residual values or higher-than-expected return
volumes for leased vehicles;
* New or increased credit, consumer or data protection or other
regulations resulting in higher costs and/or additional financing
restrictions; and
* Inability to implement the Way Forward plan.
We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast or assumption made by
management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate,
or that any projection will be realized. It is to be expected that there may
be differences between projected and actual results. Our forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and we do not
undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For additional discussion, see "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our 2005 10-K
Report.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company
09/15/2006
CONTACT: Media Contact: Oscar Suris, +1-313-594-1106, osuris@ford.com ,
or Broadcast News: Kelli Felker, +1-313-322-1790, kfelker1@ford.com , or
Equity Investment: Raj Modi, +1-313-323-8221, fordir@ford.com , or Fixed
Income: Rob Moeller, +1-313-621-0881, fixedinc@ford.com , or Shareholders:
+1-80-555-5259 or +1-313-845-8540, stockinf@ford.com
3378 09/15/2006 07:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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