Ford is stalling F-150 Lightning production and slashing manager bonuses as it races to cut costs

Ford boss Jim Farley poses with an F-150 Lightning. 

Ford is taking two major cost-cutting actions as it struggles to turn a profit on electric cars: pausing production of its flagship electric pickup truck and slashing manager bonuses.

The F-150 Lightning factory in Metro Detroit, which is already only running on a single shift, will idle for seven weeks (including planned holiday downtime) on Friday, November 15, the company said.

Ford’s financial results have taken a hit from quality issues and rising costs — including an $800 million warranty charge in the second quarter. Managers with bonuses tied to these metrics will see payouts slashed to 65% of last year’s levels.

“We are focused on lowering our costs, improving our quality and making Ford a higher growth, higher margin, more capital efficient and more resilient business,” a Ford spokesperson told B-17.

These are just the latest cost-cutting moves for Ford as sudden changes in the US electric vehicle market have an outsize effect on the American car company.

At the end of August, Ford announced it would reduce spending on EVs to 30% of capital expenditures from 40% previously.

The company also adjusted plans for its future electric vehicle portfolio, canceling long-held plans for electric three-row SUVs and delaying production of its next electric pickup truck.

The company’s electric vehicle division, known internally as Model e, lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter, Ford said Monday. The company also updated its full-year earnings outlook to “about $10 billion” from a previous range of $10 billion to $12 billion.

Shares fell about 5% following the earnings report and are down more than 15% this year.