Ford says autoworkers strike cut sales by 100,000 vehicles and cost company $1.7 billion in profits

Ford Motor Co. says a six-week strike by the United Auto Workers union cut sales by about 100,000 vehicles and cost the company $1.7 billion in lost profits this year

Ford Strike Costs (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A six-week United Auto Workers strike at Ford cut sales by about 100,000 vehicles and cost the company $1.7 billion in lost profits this year, the automaker said Thursday.

Additional labor costs from the four-year and eight-month agreement will total $8.8 billion by the end of the contract, translating to about $900 per vehicle by 2028, Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a company release. Ford will work to offset that cost through higher productivity and reducing expenses, Lawler said.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker re-issued full-year earnings guidance that was withdrawn during the strike but trimmed its expectations. The company now expects to earn $10 billion to $10.5 billion before taxes in 2023. That's down from $11 billion to $12 billion that it projected last summer.

Ford said the strike caused it to lose production of high-profit trucks and SUVs. UAW workers shut down the company's largest and most profitable factory in Louisville, Kentucky, which makes big SUVs and heavy-duty pickup trucks.

The company generated $4.9 billion in net income and $9.4 billion in pretax earnings during the first nine months of the year.

The announcement comes ahead of Lawler speaking to the Barclays Global Automotive and Mobility Technology Conference Thursday morning in New York.

The UAW strike began Sept. 15, targeting assembly plants and other facilities at Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The strike ended at Ford on Oct. 25.