Ford has 25% more engineers doing same work as rivals, CEO says
BOHICA, from the Detroit News:
Ford Motor Co.’s engineering ranks may bear the brunt of additional job cuts the automaker has alluded to in the wake of disappointing earnings, judging from Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley’s latest interview.
“It takes us 25% more engineers to do the same work statements as our competitors,” Farley said on “Cars & Culture with Jason Stein,” a SiriusXM radio show that will air the interview on Feb. 10. “I can’t afford to be 25% less efficient.”
Farley said last week that Ford missed out on about $2 billion in profits last year as a result of avoidable expenses and supply-chain issues. He pledged to cut $2.5 billion in costs this year and said job cuts are on the table.
Ford posted a net loss for 2022 of $2 billion, due in part to a $7.4 billion mark-to-market loss from selling off stock in the electric-vehicle startup. And the Dearborn automaker was hit with a $2.7 billion impairment from its investment in autonomous-vehicle company Argo AI, which was dissolved into Ford and partner Volkswagen AG.
The company's stock was trading down 2% to $12.96 at 1:25 p.m. in New York.
In August, Ford eliminated about 3,000 positions, most of which were in the U.S. The German union IG Metall warned last month that it’s expecting about 3,200 reductions across Europe. Bloomberg reported in July of last year that Ford was preparing to cut as many as 8,000 jobs.
Last week, Ford announced it would reduce bonuses for hundreds of top executives, including Farley, who’s been CEO since October 2020. The automaker’s shares have almost doubled during his tenure.
Ford posted $10.4 billion in earnings before interest and taxes last year, a key profitability metric, and factors such as service warranty improvements and strong operating cash flow drove the company to hit the targets used to determine employee incentives. But overall, executives — as well as investors and analysts — weren't pleased with Ford's 2022 financial performance.
Ford missed its guidance on earnings before interest and taxes: EBIT came in $1.1 billion below the automaker's guidance of $11.5 billion.