Ford Motor Company has a broad range of economic impacts. Our success as a company directly affects millions of employees, dealers, investors and suppliers. We also have indirect economic impacts on the hundreds of communities in which we operate worldwide.
To sustain our Company, meet our responsibilities and contribute to tackling global sustainability issues, we are continuing to implement our disciplined restructuring plan, aligning all of our global operations to deliver on four key priorities:
- Aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix
- Accelerate the development of new products our customers want and value
- Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet
- Work together effectively as one team
In this section, we discuss our achievements in restructuring our North American operations (including highlighting our new UAW contract) and our performance in other global markets. We also discuss our plans to continue improving our economic outlook by delivering high-quality, innovative products globally. (A wide range of risks and competitive factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K may affect the implementation of these plans.) Finally, we discuss investor feedback and ratings and Ford Motor Credit, as well as focusing on three topics in case studies: the impact of the automotive industry in the U.S.; the all-new Ford Fiesta; and our Global Quality Operating System.
Assessing Materiality
The materiality analysis used to shape this report confirmed that the Company and stakeholders alike have a high level of concern about Ford's financial condition.
Within this broad topic, the issue of managing downsizing is of concern to a range of stakeholders, particularly in terms of its impact on employees and communities. There is also interest in the impact of Ford's legacy costs and current health care costs on the Company's profitability, and related interest in Ford's participation in public policy concerning health care reform. How Ford has managed downsizing and the Company's new approach to post-retirement health care costs are discussed in detail in this section. Vehicle quality and Ford's manufacturing, marketing and product competitiveness were also of significant concern to internal and external stakeholders.