Autoworkers strike cut Ford sales by 100,000 vehicles and cost company $1.7 billion in profits
Ford Motor Co. says a six-week strike by the United Auto Workers union cut sales by about 100,000 vehicles and cost the company $1.7 billion in lost profits this year
DETROIT — A six-week United Auto Workers strike at Ford cut sales by about 100,000 vehicles and cost the company $1.7 billion in lost profits this year, the automaker said Thursday.
Additional labor costs from the four-year and eight-month agreement will total $8.8 billion by the end of the contract, translating to about $900 per vehicle by 2028, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a company release. Ford will work to offset that cost through higher productivity and reducing expenses, Lawler said.
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker re-issued full-year earnings guidance that was withdrawn during the strike, but it trimmed its expectations. The company now expects to earn $10 billion to $10.5 billion before taxes in 2023. That's down from $11 billion to $12 billion that it projected last summer.
Ford said the strike caused it to lose production of high-profit trucks and SUVs. UAW workers shut down the company's largest and most profitable factory in Louisville, Kentucky, which makes big SUVs and heavy-duty pickup trucks.
The UAW strike began Sept. 15, targeting assembly plants and other facilities at Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The strike ended at Ford on Oct. 25.
Shares of Ford fell almost 3% to $10.29 in midday trading Thursday. They are down more than 25% in the past year.
Ford, as well as rivals General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis, agreed to new contracts with the UAW that raise top assembly plant worker pay by about 33% by the time the deals expire in April of 2028. The new contracts also ended some lower tiers of wages,
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