(autoinsidernews) - Ford's North American operations will return to profitability in 2009, said Ford CFO Don Leclair. While Leclair didn't say how large the profit would be, but a chart presented during the analyst conference call suggests the figure will be small. One analysts described the bar representing Ford's 2009 income as just a thin sliver of profits, according to Automotive News. Another analyst estimated the 2009 profit will be around $250 million, reports Trend.
For the first nine months of 2009, Ford's North American operations have recorded a loss of $3.3 billion before taxes and special charges. Ford hopes to reduce its operating costs by $5 billion by the end of 2008, but Leclair said, we're not stopping our cost reductions in 2008; we're not stopping our cost reductions in 2009.