Ford’s Mark Fields: Cost-Cutting Could Accelerate
September 18, 2007

Mark Fields, Ford’s executive vice president in charge of North and South American operations, told the Wall Street Journal the automaker could accelerate cost-cutting if a slowing U.S. economy puts the company at risk of missing key financial goals in 2008 and 2009.

"There's more risk than there is opportunity going forward," Fields told the newspaper Monday. Fields cited weak job numbers along with turmoil in the debt and home mortgage markets that have led Ford to hold down fourth-quarter production to avoid building excess inventory.

Fields told the newspaper that if it appears Ford could miss key goals such as cutting operating costs by $5 billion by next year or regaining profitability in North America by 2009, "we'll adjust the plan accordingly… If we see weakness on the revenue side, we have to take up the slack on the cost side."

At the moment, Ford is on track to meet its goals, he said.

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