Ford CEO tells employees: ‘Time to bury’ 2018, focus on doubling profit
Carmarker is restructuring its global operations, including recent plans to make job cuts in Europe
London — Ford Motor CEO Jim Hackett told employees late on Thursday that the number two US automaker would not accept the 2018 “mediocre” results and said the company was aiming to nearly double its annual operating profit. Hackett made his comments in an e-mail to employees that was seen by Reuters. Ford is restructuring its global operations, including recent plans to make cuts in Europe. It also has announced an alliance in commercial vehicles with Germany’s Volkswagen , with plans to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles, in moves meant to save billions of dollars. Ford announced its fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, reporting a 2018 operating profit of $7bn with a profit margin of 4.4% , down from 6.1% in 2017. Ford said last week that its target for operating margin was more than 8% . “2018 was mediocre by any standard,” Hackett said in the e-mail. “Yes, we made $7bn last year. But think of it this way: this represents a 4.4% operating margin, about half what w...
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