More happening with Ford, GM than Trump lets on

President Donald Trump touted “what’s happening with Ford and with General Motors in Michigan and Ohio” as examples of employment expansion on Thursday. His remarks came in the same week that Detroit’s top two automakers offered evidence they are actually tightening employment and operations.

“We need to cut taxes,” the president said during a joint new conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. “We’re going to cut taxes. It’s going to bring back companies. It’s going bring back jobs.”

Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said it would offer buyouts to 1,400 salaried employees in North America and Asia, with its headquarters in Dearborn expected to take the biggest hit. It is Ford’s response to sagging profits, plateauing sales and a share price that’s down nearly 40 percent since July 2014,

And General Motors Co. on Thursday said it would exit two additional foreign markets — India and South Africa — so it can refocus capital in higher-margin auto markets and the emerging autonomy-and-mobility space.