Yahoo Finance Ford (F) Temporarily Slashes Headcount in Michigan Plant
Ford F temporarily reduced its headcount at the Rouge Electric Vehicle (“EV”) Center in Michigan. Per Detroit Free Press, the layoffs are unrelated to the ongoing United Automobile Workers (“UAW”) strike. About 700 employees will be affected by the layoffs.
Per Jessica Enoch, spokesperson of Ford, the company is adjusting the schedule at the Rouge EV Center due to multiple issues, including supply chain constraints. It is working on processing and delivering vehicles held for quality checks.
In the third quarter, Ford sold a record number of EVs, but in the same period, sales of F-150 Lightning fell 46% year over year. Ford sold only 3,500 units of F-150 Lightning in the third quarter.
Ford plans to expand production capacity at the Rouge EV Center to increase sales of F-150 Lightning in the fourth quarter. However, it is not apparent how cutting shifts would help the automaker maximize its production.
Per a UAW memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the company was planning on cutting a shift to manufacture more gas-powered vehicles.
The demand-supply ratio for the electric truck is an enigma to the automaker. Ford receives up to six-figure reservations, but most orders get canceled. The prime reason behind order cancellations is affordability. The F-150 Lightning trucks are too pricey.
Ford recently offered discounts on selected variants of the F-150 Lightning to overcome this drawback. Ford’s discount, together with the federal tax credit, can help customers save up to $15,000 on the vehicle.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
F currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked players in the auto space are Adient plc ADNT, Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN and Magna International Inc. MGA. While ADNT sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), ALSN and MGA, each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADNT’s 2023 sales and earnings indicates year-over-year rises of 9.1% and 1,790.9%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2023 has moved up by 15 cents in the past 60 days. The EPS estimate for 2024 has moved up by a cent in the past seven days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALSN’s 2023 sales and earnings suggests year-over-year improvements of 9.3% and 26.4%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2023 has moved up by 6 cents in the past 30 days. The EPS estimate for 2024 has moved up by 12 cents in the past seven days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MGA’s 2023 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 13% and 31.5%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2023 and 2024 have moved north by a cent and 4 cents, respectively, in the past seven days.
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Ford Motor Company (F) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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Adient (ADNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
