Ford Is Driven to Cut Debt

The chairman of Ford Motor Co. vowed that the automaker will cut its heavy debt load and said a stock offering by rival General Motors Co. could divert demand for Ford shares, The Wall Street Journal reported.

William C. Ford Jr. told reporters that the company is going to continue to pay off its debt "as fast as we can."

Ford has $27.3 billion in automotive debt. GM has only $8.1 billion after shedding much of its debt in a bankruptcy reorganization last year.

Ford said his company expects investment funds "will be rebalanced to GM" in the wake of an initial public offering by the automaker, which filed for an IPO on Wednesday. That could move money out of Ford shares, as funds may be subject to a limit on their auto-sector holdings, he said.

Ford said the Dearborn, Mich., company is hiring again, especially in the area of electronics and may expand its upscale Lincoln brand to markets around the world.

Ford has been "quietly adding some jobs," he said, saying the "clouds are lifting now." Since 2005, Ford has shuttered more than a dozen plants and cut more than 40,000 positions to bring its work force and production capacity in line with shrinking demand for new cars and trucks.

Ford said that internal discussions are under way at Ford over whether Lincoln, the company's last remaining brand outside the main street Ford brand, should be sold outside North America for the first time.

Ford's shedding of brands and increasing common parts across all of its vehicles has "liberated Lincoln," Ford said.

Under Chief Executive Alan Mulally, Ford has sold off niche brands Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo and Aston Martin to free up resources to rebuild the Ford division. Ford also decided to stop making Mercurys by year's end.

Ford added that innovations in product development would help rein in investment costs for Lincoln, but it remains an open question whether the company can and should build a truly global premium brand.

Nonetheless, Ford indicated that Lincoln's future was not in doubt, saying it is destined to be a "more robust luxury brand."

Lincoln once generated billions of dollars in profit for Ford but has lost much of its identity as some customers have moved to more richly outfitted Ford vehicles. Lincoln sales this year grew 4.1 percent through July, below the industry average and well behind the Ford brand's 27 percent growth.

Lincoln's importance is magnified now that Ford has decided to kill off Mercury, the 71-year-old nameplate whose sales have dwindled this year. Since Lincoln and Mercury are usually sold by the same dealers, these franchisees could struggle if Lincoln doesn't bounce back.

One problem with Lincoln is its aging audience and a base of customer who aren't especially loyal to the brand.

Ford is promising seven new or significantly improved Lincolns in the next four years, including a small luxury car and new MKZ midsize sedan. But it's unclear how deep the commitment to U.S.-dominated Lincoln runs at an increasingly global, one-brand Ford.