Ford’s union workers and their shareholders got good news this week after the company announced increases to stock dividends and profit sharing.
The company announced Tuesday that it will reward shareholders with an additional 18 cents per share dividend on top of their regular 15 cents per share dividend.
The reward came after Ford announced that while quarterly revenue was down from 2022, 2023’s full-year earnings were up from the previous year. According to the company, full-year revenue for 2023 reached $8.1 billion, up from 2022’s $7.6 billion.
The stock market reacted by boosting Ford’s shares by 4% early Wednesday.
While the revenue numbers were obviously good news for executives and shareholders, Ford’s 58,000 United Auto Workers members also cashed in, receiving over a $1,000 bump in their profit-sharing checks from around $9,000 to $10,000.
The announcement comes four months after the company signed a 4½-year contract with UAW that provided massive wage and benefit increases for thousands of Ford’s workers. During negotiations last year, Ford leadership repeatedly claimed that conceding to UAW’s demands would bankrupt the company, and other auto companies involved in the negotiations echoed Ford’s claims.
However, Ford and General Motors have announced increases to shareholders’ pay, with GM rewarding them with a 33% dividend increase and a massive stock buyback program.
The impact of the UAW contract likely hasn’t been fully felt by any of the Detroit automakers. Since the contracts afford gradual pay raises, the company will likely have to ramp up sales in the next five years to keep pace with rising wages.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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