DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: We talked a lot about trouble in the auto industry, especially with DaimlerChrysler. Well, it seems that Ford is preparing for some heavy cost cutting too. That story's in today "Financial Times." And Ed Crooks, economics editor of the paper, joins me now to tell us more -- Ed.</s>ED CROOKS, ECONOMICS EDITOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Hi, good morning. Yes, that's right, it's the big motor show in Europe going on at the moment, the Geneva Motor Show, and we've got one of our guys out there. And, as you say, story in the paper today talking about big cost cutting at Ford in Europe. They're talking about trying to take over $2 billion annually out of their costs here. And they're talking about more than $1 billion out of fixed costs, and 500 million followed by another 500 million at a variable cost. The fixed cost they're talking about essentially is including plant closures. They're talking about stopping making cars at the Dagenham factory just outside London here in the United Kingdom. And they're talking about saving on variable costs by squeezing their supplies and so on and really trying to work those costs down. It's clear they think they've got a big problem, there's a lot to do. They lost, I think, about a billion dollars in Europe last year, Ford. They're talking about trying to break even this year and then return to some substantial profits in the years after that, from next year and thereafter. But obviously Europe is a very difficult market. There's still great overcapacity in the auto industry over here. It's not probably going to be as bad a market as the U.S. this year. We expect the European car market will be reasonably strong. But, still, a lot of overcapacity is very, very hard for anyone to make a profit. So that's why Ford has been driven to these measures.</s>MARCHINI: All right, Ed Crooks of the "FT," thank you.
'Financial Times': Ford European Cost Cuts to Top $2B