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19 AutoData | March 2019 E ven if it wasn’t entirely surprising the news came as a bombshell in the Brazilian automotive segment, at end of February: Ford decided to close the Taboao plant, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, its owner since the acquisition of Willys, in 1968. In a video addressed to the employees Lyle Watters, Ford’s president for South America, said that “the performance in South America is not acceptable and cle- arly not sustainable, requiring us to keep reformulating our business urgently”. The executive also said that “while this was a difficult decision in a personal point of view, the realities of the business were evident. The decision to leave the truck business in South America came after months of viable alternatives search, in- cluding possible partnerships and selling operation. The business would require an expressive volume of investments to meet market needs, including new technologies and the increase of regulatory actions, wi- thout a viable way to profitability”. He continued: “This decision is a fun- damental step towards creating a more compact, efficient and agile business. I know it will have a significant impact on our employees and partners, and we are working to mitigate them as much as possible, but the alternative of not taking decisive attitudes at this time would be much worse for the entire organization of South America”. Watters ended his statement with a message to the employees, affirming that “this decision is not a result fromyou or the work you perform for Ford. We have been going through challenging times and we need to make some difficult decisions now to protect the viability of the long-term business. Thank you for your continuous work and contributions to our company”. Ford’s initiative had all the related ones caught by surprise: employees, suppliers, dealer chain and the City Hall of Sao Ber- nardo do Campo, initially, reacted in a ca- tatonic way, shocked with the revelation. Except for the employee representatives who knew about the decision almost half Ford’s financial results in South America 213 - 34 - 1 164 - 832 - 1 109 - 753 - 678 861 In US$ millions 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018