EW YORK (Fortune) -- As he finishes his first full week as CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally may be wondering what he got himself into. The rumble of bad news never seems to stop.
Consider:
* A leaked internal document says Ford is forecasting a pre-tax loss of nearly $6 billion in its auto operations this year, losing money everywhere except Europe and South America. With restructuring costs, the total loss for 2006 could reach $9 billion.
* The latest Way Forward plan contains more layoffs, more production cuts, and more factory closings. Ford has now offered buyouts to all 75,000 of its UAW workers.
* Two top manufacturing executives quit on Thursday.
Ford (Charts) is heading into the same trough that GM (Charts) entered a year ago, and the possibilities of an upturn seem so distant as to be unachievable. But there are major differences between the condition of the two companies that don't weigh in Ford's favor.
Somewhat over-zealous summation article contrasting the two companies. Written by a GM exec, perhaps?
