Fact Check: Ford didn't shut down US production due to Trump's tariffs, nor did it move manufacturing overseas
Claim:
Ford shut down U.S. production in May 2025 due to President Donald Trump's tariffs and relocated manufacturing operations overseas.
Rating:
A rumor that circulated online in May 2025 claimed Ford Motor Co. shut down U.S. production because of President Donald Trump's tariffs, and that it also relocated manufacturing operations overseas.
However, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo found no news media outlets reporting about the automaker halting domestic production or moving its operations abroad — either of which would be a major story. Instead, those searches displayed results for popular, advertisement-filled YouTube videos promoting the fabricated claim, including with artificial intelligence-generated scripting, voice narration and editing.
Snopes contacted representatives for Ford about this matter and will update this article if they respond.
The fictional rumor circulated in the days after Ford announced its first-quarter earnings on May 5, including reporting the expectation of a $1.5 billion tariff impact and withdrawing its 2025 financial guidance due to uncertainty about the future of U.S. trade. CNBC reported the automaker hasn't publicly announced any significant changes to its domestic manufacturing plans but has taken actions to mitigate tariff costs, including ceasing U.S. exports to China, adjusting China-made imports and other logistical changes.
On May 7, a manager of the Auto Central YouTube channel (@AutoCentralYT) posted a video (archived) with the title "Ford SHUTS DOWN Production In US And Trumps Reaction Says It All!" The clip received more than 700,000 views, as of this writing. Neither the channel, the video nor the clip's text description included any disclaimers about its content being untrue.
The clip's text description began:
Ford CEO Jim Farley has just made a shocking announcement that has shook up the whole American auto sector. In reaction to newly elected US President Donald Trump's tough new tariffs on international trade partners, Ford has announced that it will shut down critical elements of its U.S. vehicle production and relocate operations overseas. These wide tariffs make it too expensive for foreign countries to continue purchasing American-made automobiles, trucks, and electric vehicles. As a result, Ford is being compelled to relocate manufacturing overseas, a significant step that might affect thousands of American workers and the future of American auto industry.
Scans of the full text description with the AI-detection websites Copyleaks, Phrasly and ZeroGPT all concluded a user likely generated the text with AI.
The video displayed an AI-generated thumbnail image of a "breaking news" chyron. The image depicted Ford president and CEO Jim Farley holding a sign reading "14,000 jobs lost & U.S. plants closed." The image also showed an angry Trump in front of an American flag and a Ford building in flames with the word "banned" stamped on top.
(Auto Central/YouTube)
In another example of the rumor spreading online, on May 18, the similarly-named Auto Edge YouTube channel (@AutoEdgeYoutube) posted a video (archived) with the same title. The clip had more than 600,000 views, as of this writing. No disclaimers about fictional content displayed alongside the video or anywhere in the channel's bio.
The clip's thumbnail image displayed a fake Fox News "breaking news" chyron reading "Was this planned?" The image depicted Trump with his mouth open and a Ford factory with the words "Shuts down."
(Auto Edge/YouTube)
Users on Facebook (archived), TikTok (archived) and (archived) X (archived) shared these videos to further users.
Previously, Auto Central, Auto Edge and other YouTube channels promoted videos falsely claiming other companies planned to shut down U.S. operations and move abroad, even though some of the brands have never conducted their primary business domestically. Those companies include Boeing, Jeep, Ram, General Motors, Chrysler, Dodge, John Deere, Nike, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Toyota, Nvidia, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Walmart, Nissan, Honda and Harley-Davidson.
Snopes contacted a manager for the Auto Edge YouTube channel by email to ask why they promote made-up content, among other questions, and will update this story if we learn more. The Auto Central channel did not provide any contact methods.
For further reading, a previous fact check examined an untrue rumor claiming Ford planned to move four factories back to the U.S., along with 25,000 high-paying jobs, thanks to Trump's tariffs. Another rumor promoted by the Auto Central and Auto Edge YouTube channels also falsely claimed Amazon announced plans to move its headquarters outside the U.S.
"AI Detector - Free AI Checker for ChatGPT, GPT-4, Gemini & More." Copyleaks, https://copyleaks.com/ai-content-detector.
"AI Detector - Trusted AI Checker for ChatGPT, GPT4 & Gemini." ZeroGPT, https://www.zerogpt.com/.
"AI Detector: Identify AI-Generated Text." Phrasly.ai, https://phrasly.ai/ai-detector.
Ford Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results. https://s205.q4cdn.com/882619693/files/doc_financials/2025/q1/Ford-Q1-2025-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf.
"Ford Says Its Q1 Profit Fell by Two-Thirds and It Expects a $1.5 Billion Hit from Tariffs This Year." The Associated Press, 5 May 2025, https://apnews.com/article/ford-tariffs-net-income-gm-trump-549d908f4dc0e4c2383a7ccd7a326d67.
Owusu, Tony. "Ford Makes a Drastic Decision in the Face of Tariff Overhang." TheStreet, 6 May 2025, https://www.thestreet.com/automotive/ford-makes-a-drastic-decision-in-the-face-of-tariff-overhang.
Wayland, Michael. "Ford Suspends 2025 Guidance amid $2.5 Billion Tariff Impact." CNBC, 5 May 2025, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/05/ford-motor-f-earnings-q1-2025.html.
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