The CEO of Ford has warned that Trump’s economic policies could mean layoffs are coming — to four states that voted for him.
NJ.com’s Matt Arco wrote that Ford CEO Jim Farley said Tuesday that tariffs across North America could wreck the automotive industry.
“Let’s be real honest: Long term, a 25% tariff across the Mexico and Canada borders would blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we’ve never seen,” Farley said at a conference in New York. “Frankly, it gives free rein to South Korean, Japanese and European companies that are bringing 1.5 million to 2 million vehicles into the U.S. that wouldn’t be subject to those Mexican and Canadian tariffs. It would be one of the biggest windfalls for those companies ever.”
He added that if Trump rolls back parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, Ford could need to lay off people working on electric vehicle production. The Trump administration has also undone Biden-era electric vehicle policy.
“We’ve already sunk capital — even though we’ve rationalized it — into battery production and assembly plants all through Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. Many of those jobs would be at risk if big parts of the IRA are repealed,” he said.
These four states supported Trump in 2024. So far, Trump’s economic policies have shown little regard for those who voted to put him in office.
Trump, Farley said, “has talked a lot about making our U.S. auto industry stronger, bringing more production here or innovation in the U.S.”
But “so far what we’re seeing is a lot of costs and a lot of chaos,” he added.
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“Mr. Farley’s remarks at the conference… offered a rare example of a corporate executive calling into question Mr. Trump’s policies or statements. In most cases executives have either offered praise or kept quiet, apparently out of fear they could prompt reprisals from the president,” writes Jack Ewing at the New York Times.
Earlier this week, Trump signed an order increasing taxes on steel and aluminum imports. This could hurt American auto manufacturers and make their products more costly.
“Steel producers have to find ways to increase capacity, and aluminum and steel might be in short supply in the short term,” Sam Fiorani, analyst at AutoForecast Solutions, told NJ.com. “Producing vehicles has a lot of moving parts, and raising the price of what is among the most important components of the vehicle is only going to raise the price of an already expensive product.”
