Ford warns bumpy reinvention may cut future profit in half

Ford Motor just fl ashed a warning to investors that it's hard to keep profits rolling in a slowing market while also trying to reinvent your company for an autonomous age.

Profit may fall by half in the first quarter, a bigger drop than analysts predicted, as Ford ratchets back production and spends more to create the self-driving cars and electric vehicles the company has said will drive its future.

Ford shares in this struggle with automakers facing declining sales and rising costs to reengineer themselves in a new era of mobility.