Executive Chair Bill Ford and Chief Executive Jim Farley expressed concern that a highly favorable contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union could deeply wound Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) financially. However, they could always point to Ford’s EV future and how it would transform the car company. Instead, it announced a major retreat from these electric vehicle plans. (These are the first eight vehicles that stopped production when the UAW called a strike.)
Ford’s battle with the UAW is not over. The UAW management has cut a deal wildly in its favor. However, union members may not accept it as good enough. A new round of bargaining could put Ford in an even worse position. The contract is already rich. Union members get a raise of 25% over about four years. They receive improved and expensive benefits. Ford’s chief financial officer, John Lawler, worried that this would compromise the company’s ability to develop new vehicles.
Shockingly, Ford throttled back sharply in its EV investment. CNBC reported, “Ford will postpone about $12 billion in EV investment as buyers become more cautious.” Almost all of Ford’s road forward was based on this massive investment. It has been thrown on the junk pile and will be hard to retrieve as some other auto companies move forward, although General Motors may also have to retreat. Tesla, however, continues to charge ahead.
Ford said EV demand had softened. For Ford, it may never have been hard. Consumers will not pay premiums for EVs, management said. What it did not say is that EV sales face a choppy period, at best, because consumers do not like that there are too few charging stations, charging takes too long and the range of the cars is not favorable compared to gasoline-powered models. There is also evidence that Republicans rarely buy EVs, which is a large dent in the market.
Ford’s stock has fallen near its 52-week low and will not recover soon. Shares are down 17% in the past three months. Bill Ford and Farley need to make the case that the company can recover from its recent setbacks. With Ford’s EV future diminished, they cannot do that for the time being.
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