Trump tariffs have cost Ford $1 billion, according the carmaker's CEO
- Ford CEO Jim Hackett told an audience at the Bloomberg business forum conference that tariffs were setting the company back by $1 billion.
- Ford had previously warned about tariff costs and political uncertainty when reporting second-quarter earnings in July.
- Ford is in the midst of an $11-billion restructuring effort.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett said on Wednesday that metals tariffs are costing the carmaker $1 billion.
Hackett, speaking at the Bloomberg business forum conference in New York City, said tariffs were very negative to the company and that most of the supply came from American suppliers.
Ford had previously said that despite buying the vast majority of steel and aluminum for US production domestically, the tariffs could result in higher domestic commodity prices.
The United States in March said it would impose a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum.
Ford pointed to tariffs as a headwinds when it reported second-quarter earnings in July and lowered its profit forecast for 2018.
Calling the quarter "challenging," CFO Bob Shanks told analysts at the time that Ford's difficulties were connected to a "policy environment that's increasingly uncertain, causing real unfavorable bottom line effects on the business such as higher commodity costs, beyond normal cyclical effects as well as tariff-related impacts."
Automakers have warned that US President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs would boost car prices by hiking commodity costs for manufacturers.
The automaker's struggles to boost sales in China have showed no sign of ending despite taking steps to bring new products to market.
Under Hackett, Ford is in the midst of an $11-billion restructuring effort to improve what the CEO has termed its competitive fitness.
(Reuters reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)