Who Are Our Stakeholders?

We have sustained, interdependent relationships with several distinct categories of stakeholders: employees, customers, dealers, suppliers, investors and communities. Also important is our relationship to "society," including government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and academia.

Employees

In 2007, we employed approximately 245,000 individuals at about 100 plants worldwide. Substantially all of the hourly employees in our Automotive operations in the United States are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. Most hourly employees and many nonmanagement salaried employees of our subsidiaries outside the United States are also represented by unions. These unions are key partners with Ford in providing a safe, productive and respectful workplace.

Ford faces workplace safety challenges similar to those of many multinational manufacturing companies, including establishing and reinforcing high, common expectations for the safety of our employees worldwide. Most of our manufacturing facilities have joint union/management safety committees that guide the development and implementation of safety programs in their operations.

Customers

Ford's customers make us who we are. Ford Motor Company serves more than 6 million customers worldwide. Our major regional markets include North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia and Australia.

In these regions, we serve three primary types of customers: individual retail consumers, small business customers and large commercial fleet customers. We will continue to expand our products and services for these existing customers. We are particularly focused on gaining new customers in emerging markets. In North America, we are focusing on providing new products in three of the fastest-growing market segments: crossovers, small cars and luxury cars.

In all of our markets, our customers' mobility needs and desires are changing faster than ever. We have to listen closely and often to our customers, and carefully study market trends to anticipate and deliver what our customers want.

Dealers

Our dealers are the face of Ford to our customers and communities. They are key employers and contributors to local economies. Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers in the United States alone employ nearly 200,000 people, with an annual payroll of almost $8 billion.

Suppliers

Suppliers are an integral part of our business, and our success is interdependent with theirs. We rely on more than 2,000 production suppliers to provide many of the parts that are assembled into Ford vehicles. Another 9,000 suppliers provide a wide range of nonproduction goods and services, from industrial materials to computers to advertising.

Our supply base is increasingly global. We are expanding production in several regions to serve the sales growth expected to occur in emerging markets. We are also expanding our sourcing in these lower-cost emerging markets, as a way to serve both local markets and the global supply chain. These changes, and our efforts to ensure good working conditions in our supply chain, are discussed in detail in the Human Rights section of this report.

Communities

Our Company impacts the communities in which we operate in numerous ways, from the employment we provide and the taxes we pay, to the environmental and safety performance of our operations, to the ways in which we support and participate in civic life. Responsibly managing these impacts is not just about being a good neighbor; it is fundamental to the success of our business.

The communities in which we operate are composed of a diverse range of stakeholders. They include our customers, our employees, our business partners and their employees, government regulators, members of civil society and community organizations, and those individuals who live and work around our facilities, among others. Developing and maintaining positive relationships with these varied groups contributes to Ford's ability to operate and is an important factor in our reputation and operational efficiency. These community relationships also help us attract and retain employees and access markets for our products.