Ford reportedly heading for seven billion euro loss this year

Shares in carmaker Ford tumbled after a newspaper reported that its financial officers estimate it will lose up to seven billion euros this year including the costs of a massive restructuring plan. The board of directors, under Chairman Bill Ford Jr., has been meeting to discuss even deeper cuts than were proposed earlier this year. Ford’s sales in the US have dropped dramatically as drivers stopped buying their big four-wheel-drive vehicles in favour of more fuel efficient cars when petrol prices rose. The review is not expected to lead to big changes at Ford’s European operations which made a profit of 154 million euros in the first half of the year. Ford Europe’s president, John Fleming, said there will not be “a major reorganisation” of its business. It has reduced the number of European assembly plants to seven from 11 and cut more than 9,000 jobs in the last five years while increasing output.

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