January 12, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley announced a contingency plan of restructuring operations on January 11 that its Brazilian manufacturing plants in Camaçari and Taubaté will stop immediately and the Troller plant in Belo Horizonte will cease at the end of this year. The closures will cause more than 5,000 employees to lose their jobs and will also cost Ford US$4.1 billion in charges to shut down its Brazil production.

Ford opened its first assembly plant in Brazil in 1920 and has operated in the region for more than a century. But the automaker has maintained unstable business operations in the region in recent years. The automaker reportedly lost US$704 million in South America in 2019 and lost US$386 million through the first 3 quarters of 2020.

Meanwhile, Ford stated that it will maintain vehicle sales in Brazil, and continue keeping its South America headquarters, product development center, and proving grounds as well. According to Farley's new restructuring plan, Ford will continue to sell vehicles in South America and Brazil. However, Ford will accelerate bringing the benefits of connectivity, electrification, and autonomous technologies to customers worldwide.

Photo:Webshot.