Leadership at General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are reassuring employees and investors that the companies are working on how to best navigate the turbulence they foresee coming out of the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on all imported autos and most auto parts.
The messages to the workforces at both automakers, obtained by the Detroit Free Press, said companies are well-positioned to address the uncertainty around the tariffs, which take effect Thursday. Despite being healthy companies, both automakers will feel impact, the statements said.
For that reason, company leaders are wasting no time in studying the new executive order and advising employees to stay focused on their jobs and be mindful of corporate spending.
In an unsigned memo posted to an internal website and dated March 27, one day after Trump imposed the tariffs, GM leadership acknowledged the impact on the company’s manufacturing footprint and supply chain. GM and Ford get many parts from overseas suppliers, even for vehicles made stateside.
The memo stops short of quantifying the impact on the automaker. It goes on to say GM supports a strong U.S.-based auto industry and its leaders have been been planning to keep the company “nimble based on any tariffs announced by the U.S. adminstration.”
Ford CEO Jim Farley, in his memo to employees also dated March 27, said the company is still studying impacts on the Dearborn-based automaker from the tariffs, which it anticipates are “likely to be significant across our industry.”
Jim Farley, president and CEO of Ford Motor Co., talks with the media after Ford kicks off the 2025 Detroit Auto Show with a reveal at Huntington Place in Detroit, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
”While Ford supports the president’s vision of building a stronger auto industry and manufacturing base in the United States, the situation is dynamic and the impacts of the tariffs are likely to be significant across our industry – affecting automakers, suppliers, dealers and customers.”
He noted that nearly 80% of the vehicles Ford sells in the states are made here but, “this does not mean Ford is immune to the impact of tariffs, which could be meaningful.”
Farley wrote, “I assure you that our Ford team has been and will continue to engage closely with the Trump administration as well as policymakers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and other markets to help shape these critical trade and policy issues.”
Spokespeople for Ford and GM declined to comment Sunday to the Free Press about the memos.
Farley has warned about the dire consequences to the industry from tariffs. In early February, at a Wall Street conference, he told analysts, “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.”
Many auto industry experts say the tariffs will lead to massive cost hikes for automakers and suppliers and ultimately boost new vehicle prices by $5,000 to $10,000. The GM message tells employees that the automaker is working to pinpoint where it is most vulnerable to any impact from the tariffs.
Trump has said they will spur U.S. manufacturing, bring in hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue and create jobs. Trump told NBC News in an interview Saturday he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raised prices due to new tariffs.
“I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars,” Trump said in the interviews. “We have plenty.”
NBC said after the interview, a presidential aide said Trump was referring specifically to foreign car prices.
But the problem is there is no 100% American-made vehicle, given so many parts are imported. GM imports about 46% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S., according to research firm GlobalData. Whereas, at Ford, that number is 21%, giving it an advantage in this tariff environment.
Plus, even some U.S.-built vehicles contain imported parts. The Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup, a big seller for Ford, is assembled in Louisville, Kentucky, but all the gasoline V8 engines come from Windsor, Ontario, and the diesel V8s in it are made in Mexico, with other assorted parts also imported, including the aluminum for the bodies, Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of Market Research at Telemetry Insights, told the Free Press last week.
The GM message told employees to remain focused on their work and disciplined in their company spending.
“We are now identifying potential impacts by supplier, vehicle program, plant, and other factors, and working through what we need to do and when,” the memo reads. “We are in a strong position to navigate this dynamic situation and will continue to deliver for our customers, employees, and communities. Each of us can contribute by staying focused and delivering on plans for this year, maintaining a disciplined approach and managing discretionary costs.”
Farley noted that Ford is unique in that it has the largest manufacturing footprint in the United States of all automakers. But, similar to the GM memo, he advised employees remain diligent in their work and watch corporate spending.
“Just as we did during COVID, the chip shortage and other situations, Ford will work across the company, and closely with our dealers and suppliers, to protect our business in all global markets and take care of our valued customers,” Farley wrote. ”Please stay focused on delivering the highest-quality vehicles and experiences for our customers, eliminating waste from our operations and taking care of each other.”
On Friday the Free Press reported that Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford reiterated to investors that the automaker is “well-positioned” to get through the economic and political uncertainty of the current U.S. automotive environment, and its top “operating priorities” this year are to continue to improve quality and cost-efficiency.
Ford’s statement was part of a filing the automaker made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In an introduction to shareholders, Ford wrote a reassurance that the 121-year-old automaker will survive any volatility.
Ford alluded to turbulence around the uncertainty the tariff policy has created, along with the challenge of “new competitors,” a likely reference to the Chinese automakers and their growing global dominance in electric vehicle sales.
“As we have many times in our history, we are being tested by forces reshaping our industry,” Ford wrote. “Technological leaps, geopolitical uncertainties, compliance pressure and new competitors are all disrupting the status quo. And yet, Ford is well-positioned to navigate these challenges and emerge as a winner.”
Ford said the company will continue to invest in future product and remains “committed to reaching industry-leading quality and cost efficiency, our top operating priorities for this year.”
General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra answers a question during Automotive Press Association’s fireside chat at Garden Theater in Detroit on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024.
Bill Ford has spent time in March on the phone with the Trump administration or in Washington, D.C., meeting with the president or his administration. In fact, last Wednesday, just hours before Trump signed the executive order, the Free Press learned that GM CEO Mary Barra and Bill Ford both had made 11th-hour appeals to the White House to discuss tariffs and ways to mitigate the effect on their companies.
Their efforts were to no avail. Trump signed an executive order that evening. The news has rocked the auto industry, with many analysts saying the tariff is unsustainable because nearly half the vehicles sold in the United States are imported, even those sold by the Detroit automakers.
Executive Chair Bill Ford sits on stage with an image of Michigan Central and the reimagined Book Depository in the background as they launch Newlab’s opening in Detroit on Tuesday, April 24, 2023.
Besides U.S. automakers getting parts from other countries, mostly Canada and Mexico, they also sell vehicles made here in other countries. If other countries enact retaliatory tariffs, demand for GM and Ford vehicles globally could decline, hurting sales.
It is unclear if a Stellantis leader has communicated with employees or investors. But a company spokesperson has referred the Free Press to a statement by the American Automotive Policy Council, the group that represents the automakers in Washington, on Stellantis’ behalf.
The group said the U.S.-based automakers are committed to Trump’s vision of increasing automotive production and jobs in the U.S. They will continue to work with the administration, emphasizing the importance of implementing tariffs in a way that avoids raising prices for consumers and preserves the competitiveness of the carmakers.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
