Ford’s European Woes Grow and 2 Auto Stocks Going Places

Ford (NYSE:F): The company has intentions to reduce jobs and close plants, but it is possible that it is not enough to halt losses in Europe, where moves to rein in margin-crushing discounts caused a continued sales plunge, Reuters reported. The U.S. carmaker initially earned investors’ praise, and unions’ wrath, for three plant closures and 6,200 layoffs that were designed to reduce excess production capacity. However, not even five months later, Ford’s slowing sales indicate that it still has some way to go and could possibly struggle to win back business from competitors while it rebuilds profitability. The company’s European decline, seen since December, is the worst three-month sales performance by a mass automaker, andit reflects efforts to conclude a discount blowout in which it increased its incentives to shift a glut of cars, claims industry insiders and unpublished data.