Ford Motor announces partnership
Collaboration aimed at assuring steady flow of U.s.-made chips
About two months ago, the chief executives of Ford Motor Co. and Globalfoundries, a semiconductor supplier, spent several hours discussing the chip shortage vexing automakers and disrupting production around the world.
On Thursday the companies revealed the result of that meeting — a collaboration aimed at increasing chip manufacturing in the United States and improving Ford’s supply of the critical parts.
Ford said in a statement that it and Globalfoundries had signed a nonbinding agreement to collaborate on developing chips for Ford vehicles, and that the companies would explore ways of expanding U.S. chip production.
“It’s critical that we create new ways of working with suppliers to give Ford and America greater independence in delivering the technologies and features our customers will most value in the future,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said. “This agreement is just the beginning, and a key part of our plan to vertically integrate key technologies and capabilities that will differentiate Ford far into the future.”
The companies plan to continue discussions about specific ways to increase the output of chips in the United States. They declined to elaborate or say if Ford might invest in a new semiconductor factory with Globalfoundries. The current memorandum of understanding does not call for a cross-shareholding between the companies.
Thomas Caulfield, Globalfoundries’ chief executive, said the agreement would foster innovation and “ensure long-term supply-demand balance.”
Ford and other automakers have had to idle vehicle plants intermittently this year because they have been unable to get enough computer chips — the brains needed to control engines, transmissions, brakes, infotainment systems and more.
General Motors also is having discussions with chip companies about ways to secure enough chips to keep its factories running.
“We are specifically working on a strategy to make sure that we are not seeing these types of constraints in the medium term and certainly in the long term,” GM CEO Mary T. Barra said on a conference call last month.
The auto industry’s chip shortage stems from the beginning of the pandemic, when auto plants closed for about two months to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among workers. At the same time, sales of computer and game consoles soared, and their producers increased semiconductor orders. When automakers re