Ford to shut down operations in Argentina, Brazil

Ford Motor said on Monday its financial services arm, Ford Credit, would put an end to operations in Brazil and Argentina and take a non-cash charge of up to $375 million.

The automaker said it expects most of these losses, which include $365 million related to foreign currency, to be recognized this year, though the timing for the completion of the shutdown is not certain as of yet.

The automaker said it would pay about $10 million in cash for employee separations.

Earlier this month, media reports said the automaker would pay roughly 2.5 billion reais ($495 million) to the state of Bahia after deciding to shut its plants in Brazil.

In January, Ford decided to shut down its three plants in Brazil and take pretax charges of about $4.1 billion. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro condemned the move of the automaker and attributed the decision to close its three plants in the country to the end of multibillion-dollar subsidies provided by the government.