LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 12,000 rank-and-file workers at Ford Motor Co.'s two Louisville plants will receive profit-sharing bonuses of about $6,600 apiece in March, the lowest annual payout in at least eight years, according to company data.
The United Auto Workers-negotiated bonuses are based on Ford's profit in North America, which fell last year to $6.6 billion, the company reported earlier this week. The actual bonus paid to each worker is based on his or her hours worked in 2019.
Ford's total profit plunged by more than $3.6 billion in 2019, weighed down by slowing U.S. sales, the cost of a botched SUV launch and some big pension expenses. U.S. sales fell 3.2% to just over 2.4 million vehicles.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday that the company fell short of expectations for the year, and he blamed the drop primarily on the flubbed launch of the new Ford Explorer SUV at its factory in Chicago.
Ford makes the Escape SUV at its Louisville Assembly Plant off Fern Valley Road and Super Duty pickup trucks at Kentucky Truck Plant in eastern Jefferson County.
