Ford Motor Co. F,
said Monday it was ceasing production in Brazil, immediately closing two plants and another by the end of the year, liquidating sales of Brazilian-made vehicles as inventory was sold. Production operations in Argentina and Uruguay and sales companies in other South American markets are unaffected, Ford said. The company said it will maintain customer support, product development and related operations in Brazil, as well as its regional headquarters in São Paulo. The carmaker said it would “facilitate possible reasonable alternatives” for stakeholders to take over the available facilities. In connection with this decision, Ford expects to pay pre-tax taxes of around $ 4.1 billion, including about $ 2.5 billion in 2020 and about $ 1.6 billion in 2021. Ford shares added news gains, recently up 2.3%. The stock has lost 0.3% in the last 12 months, in contrast to the gains of around 17% for the S&P 500 index. SPX,