High extra costs as well as increasing problems in China and Europe drove Ford towards the end of the year in the red. The bottom line was a loss of $ 116 million (about 102 million euros) recorded in the fourth quarter, as the second largest US car maker after the market closed. In the same period last year, the company had reported a profit of 2.5 billion dollars.

Adjusted operating income now fell 28 percent to $ 1.5 billion. After all, sales increased slightly to $ 41.8 billion. Despite the weak numbers, the market reaction was relaxed - the stock was initially slightly up in the stock market. ford had already dampened expectations in the past week.

Plus in North America - and nowhere else

The company is doing well in popular US SUVs and pick-ups in the US home market, where it finally achieved all its profits; but there are difficulties internationally. The European business made an operating loss of $ 199 million in the final quarter. Asia lost $ 381 million. Also in South America and Africa, there were red numbers.

The balance sheet was also burdened by an approximately $ 900 million writedown on pension plans. An additional burden is the tariff dispute between the US and trading partners such as China and the EU, which significantly increases the cost of materials for carmakers.

Ford CEO Jim Hackett has already announced a major corporate restructuring, which should cut costs massively. Part of the austerity program are also drastic job cuts.

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It was not until about two weeks ago that Ford announced that it would reorganize its European business and cut thousands of jobs. Of the approximately 50,000 jobs on the continent, "a considerable number" will be eliminated, said Europe CEO Steven Armstrong. In Germany, Ford employs about 24,000 people, most of them in Cologne, where the US group has its European headquarters. How many places will disappear there exactly is not yet clear.

One thing is certain: the results for the year as a whole do not give much hope. In 2018, an operating loss of $ 398 million was incurred in Europe, compared with a significant gain in the previous year. Things were even worse in Asia - where Ford lost $ 1.1 billion - and in South America, which weighed $ 678 million on the year. These problems resulted in total net income falling to $ 3.7 billion, more than halving.