Ford's Mulally: This Is All Part Of Our Plan [Industry News]

Ford CEO Alan Mulally spoke with CNBC's Phil LeBeau today following the automaker's announcement of $129 million in third quarter loses and announced the company was ready to weather the storm and will continue to develop its product line — but would still love some o' that good ol' socialist government help. The message appears to be far cheerier than GM's announcement that it would be implementing big changes, though there's still some cause for concern. What's the difference?

First of all, Ford has around $30 billion in both liquid assets and a credit line the company secured just in case the global economy turned south (that seems prescient). That means the "should they go bankrupt" conversation is much further away. Additionally, Mulally claims the third-quarter cash loss was higher than usual because Ford cut production of the F-150 in advance of the 2009 Ford F-150. As hard as it is to believe, Mulally said that "this goes back to our fundamental plan." Ford's plan to realign earlier seems to have put them in a better position. Of course, they still want/need the money to help cover pension liabilities and the development of more fuel efficient cars.

[Source: CNBC]