Ford Moves to Conserve Cash, Resume Factory Work as Shutdown Cripples Business
27 March 2020 - 4:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Colias
Ford Motor Co. is planning to reopen some U.S. factories and is
taking further measures to conserve cash as coronavirus disruptions
batter the global auto industry.
The company said its top 300 executives would defer 20% to 50%
of their salaries for at least five months, starting May 1, Chief
Executive Jim Hackett wrote in a letter to employees Thursday. Ford
will defer merit-based salary increases, suspend overtime pay for
salaried workers and partially freeze new hiring. Executive
Chairman Bill Ford Jr. will defer 100% of his salary for the same
five-month period.
The company also said it would resume production at some U.S.
factories on April 14, including plants in Michigan and Kentucky
where the company's highly profitable pickup trucks and
sport-utility vehicles are assembled. Ford closed its North
American plants last week amid pressure from United Auto Workers
officials over concerns about virus exposure.
The moves come a day after Standard & Poor's cut Ford's bond
rating into junk territory and Moody's Investors Service downgraded
it further below investment-grade status, citing the risk of a huge
cash drain from an extended shutdown of Ford's factories.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 26, 2020 13:38 ET (17:38 GMT)
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