Mustangmaster

In the news today. Wow, look what high gas prices is doing to our wonderful auto industry.

Elwood

http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/2...rter-loss.html

Yeah I was just about to post this link when I saw this thread.

It's not gas prices. It rising costs of everything. Also, the auto-workers not allowing them to lay off employees they don't need. When they try to close a non profitable plant, the folks get up in a huff about losing their jobs. I mean it is not like Ford just sells SUV's. Its that all the cars they should be selling here are on other continents.

Everywhere else they are doing fine:
"The company, though, continued to be profitable overseas, posting a $582 million profit in Europe and $388 million in South America. The company also made $50 million at its Asia-Pacific-Africa division."

fjc

And from what I read, $8 billion of the $8.7 billion was just accounting adjustments, not real money.

chiguy79

What they are losing serious money on is legacy cost (ie retirement healthcare, pension, etc.) those are cost they can't control either which is the problem (unless they cut benefits, etc. which is what they are resorting to now).

Our government has the same issue, govt employees get fat pensions when private employees don't get them anymore because the system doesn't work anymore. Until the government starts cutting benefits to federal/state/city employees taxes are going to be going up significantly because all the pension systems are so underfunded.

I did some financial work for steel companies before they hosed all their employees and they only had 10% of the funds to payout what they had promised the employees, guess who picked up that tab tax payers.

I know a ford employee who said that $5,000 of each car sold goes to employee healthcare cost...hard to compete with that.