Ford Market

FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUSINESS PLAN
SUBMITTED TO THE
SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE
December 2, 2008
1
INTRODUCTION
Ford Motor Company welcomes the opportunity to submit our Plan to the Senate
Banking Committee, and appreciates the time and attention Congress is devoting to the
critical issues that confront the domestic automotive industry in the current economic
environment.
In this submission, we first provide an overview of the current business
environment, then discuss our Plan for viability, and conclude by answering the specific
questions posed in the correspondence received from Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
We all have a shared interest in protecting American jobs, a vital American
industry and American innovation. As the Committee knows so well, the ongoing
economic and credit crisis has affected many Americans – from losing their jobs to
losing their homes. The recession also has had very negative ramifications for the U.S.
auto industry, which supports five million jobs in all 50 states and spends $12 billion
annually on research and development in the U.S. – more than any other industry.
We fully appreciate that the industry needs to transform itself to better compete
by developing safer, greener and even better quality vehicles. We recognize Congress’
important role as guardian of the American taxpayers, and we hope in our submission
that we address your valid concerns about our potential for future viability and restore
your confidence in our commitment to bring change and accountability.
As a company and as an industry, we readily admit
that we have made our share of mistakes and
miscalculations in the past. We would ask
Congress to recognize, however, that Ford did not
wait until the current crisis to begin our restructuring
efforts, and that much of what we describe below
are actions we have taken and decisions we have
made about the future that have already put us on a
path to... [continues]

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