Ford Plans to Reduce Number of Suppliers by 40%

Ford Motor Co., the U.S. automaker that purchases about $100 billion worth of parts annually, plans to reduce its roster of suppliers by 40 percent to cut the cost of building its cars and trucks.

Ford’s long-term goal is to buy parts from about 750 suppliers, from 1,260 last year, said Hau Thai-Tang, who became group vice president of global purchasing in August. The second-largest U.S. automaker is reducing the number of platforms that serve as the base of its vehicles, paring development costs and enabling the company to source from fewer suppliers.