Ford announces $129M 3Q loss, burns $7.7B in cash

[November 07, 2008]  DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. says it lost $129 million in the third quarter as the struggling automaker burned up $7.7 billion in cash.

The automaker also said Friday it will cut another 10 percent of its North American salaried work force costs as it tries to weather the worst economic downturn in decades.

Ford says it lost 6 cents per share for the quarter, compared with a loss of $380 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

The company posted a pretax loss of $2.7 billion from continuing operations. But it was offset partly by a $2 billion gain as the company shifted retiree health care liabilities to a trust run by the United Auto Workers.

Sales fell 22 percent to $32.1 billion from $41.1 billion due to lower volume and the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover.

Excluding special items, Ford lost $1.31 per share, worse than Wall Street expected. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted a loss of 94 cents per share on sales of $28 billion.

Dearborn-based Ford reported its worst three-month performance ever in the second quarter, when it lost nearly $8.7 billion.

[Associated Press; By TOM KRISHER and JAMES PRICHARD]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.