Ford Motor Co. reported a net loss of $5.45 billion 2001. Excluding previously announced unusual charges and other items, Ford lost $782 million, compared to net income of $3.47 billion in 2000.

Operating earnings before unusual items for full-year 2000 were $6.67 billion. Revenues for 2001 were $162.4 billion, compared to $170.1 billion a year ago.
The company said the loss primarily reflects lower volume in North America, significantly higher marketing and product costs, customer satisfaction initiatives, and increased credit losses at Ford Credit.
Worldwide automotive operations lost $1.96 billion in 2001, compared to a profit of $4.88 billion a year ago. Worldwide automotive revenues were $131.53 billion, a decline of 7 % from $141.23 billion a year ago. The 2001 full-year loss in North America was $2.15 billion on revenues of $90.95 billion. Earnings in 2000 were $5.03 billion on revenues of $103.87 billion. Ford blamed the competitive environment in the U.S., which led to lower unit sales volume and higher marketing costs. Marketing costs in the U.S. as a percent of revenue in the fourth quarter were 16.7 percent of revenues, up 6 points from a year ago.
The company recently announced a restructuring plan that will cut some 35,000 jobs worldwide, including 22,000 in the U.S. Over the next several years it will close five plants and reduce production at 11 others. The Kentucky Truck Plant, where most of Ford’s medium duty commercial vehicles are built, isn’t expected to be affected.
In addition to the capacity reductions, the company will discontinue five low margin passenger vehicles and sell non-core businesses. There will be no profit-sharing for U.S. hourly employees, and Ford has eliminated bonuses and cut benefits for salaried workers.