Ford Motor Co. F,
said Monday it was halting production in Brazil, closing two factories immediately and another by the end of the year, scaling down sales of some Brazilian-made vehicles as inventory was sold. Manufacturing operations in Argentina and Uruguay and sales businesses in other South American markets are not affected, Ford said. The company said it will maintain some customer support, product development and related activities in Brazil, as well as its regional headquarters in São Paulo. The carmaker said it will “facilitate possible reasonable alternatives” for interested parties to acquire the available plants. In connection with this decision, Ford expects to pay pre-tax costs of approximately $ 4.1 billion, of which approximately $ 2.5 billion in 2020 and approximately $ 1.6 billion in 2021. Ford shares contributed to profit on the news , recently increased by 2.3%. The stock has lost 0.3% in the past 12 months, as opposed to an increase of about 17% for the S&P 500 index. SPX,