Welcome to today's edition of the Daily 5.
The Detroit 3 have generated several headlines over the past few weeks about thousands of painful job cuts for blue- and white-collar workers. It's an unfortunate pattern in bad or mediocre years when companies need to cut expenses to spiff up their year-end financials.
Today was Ford's turn to announce the bad news: 4,000 job cuts in Europe and 400 job reassignments in Michigan following a cut in Bronco production. This follows ongoing job cuts at Stellantis and General Motors.
Ford signaled more cost cuts in its third-quarter earnings report last month, but that doesn't make it easier on workers losing their jobs or being forced to transfer to different plants. Furthermore, cuts in vehicle production go into the supply chain where more people lose work.
Still, this reminds us of the cyclical nature of the auto industry. Those of us who grew up in the Detroit area know how the booms and busts work. And it was just over 15 years ago when we witnessed what happens to automakers that fail to heed bloated cost structures. GM and Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Ford avoided bankruptcy by leveraging almost everything including the Blue Oval.
As much as Ford wants to cut costs, it also won't miss opportunities to build new revenue streams. Could in-vehicle advertising be on the horizon?
This story today looks at a pending patent that the company published in August revealing an "in-vehicle advertisement presentation system." Ford hasn't said if it will go forward with this infotainment technology, and it would certainly risk polarizing some end users. But new technologies are emerging that make streaming ads less intrusive.
In other news today, Elon Musk's boss, Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm, benefited nicely from the recent post-election run-up on Tesla stock. She exercised an option worth $35 million on Nov. 15.
Meanwhile, please keep an eye out for a couple of stories coming this afternoon and evening from the Los Angeles Auto Show. Hyundai will be making most of the news as most other automakers continue to steer away from glitzy product reveals at auto shows.
That's it for today. Have a great rest of your afternoon.
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— Philip Nussel, online editor
