Following President Obama’s auto task force’s decision to deny U.S. auto suppliers up to $10 billion in federal aid, Ford CEO Alan Mulally has spoken out on behalf of the nation’s supplier base. Mulally said the health of U.S. suppliers should now be the industry’s top concern.
Mulally acknowledge some suppliers might go out of business, but emphasized the need for a strong U.S. supplier base. “The most important thing that we do now is help them consolidate because we have this overcapacity,” Mulally told Automotive News.
“Everybody is going to be really careful that we do that and that we don’t topple the supply base.”
Mulally added that Ford is working with a number of other automakers to ensure the nation’s supplier base doesn’t end up on a slippery slope. Part suppliers have been hit hard by the collapse in new car sales, with bankruptcies at Chrysler and General Motors only worsening the situation. Some suppliers fear they won’t have enough cash on hand to ramp up production once Chrysler and GM fully emerge from their Chapter 11 filings.
