Ford says that a change in the way it values pension obligations will cut its 2016 net income by $2 billion.

According to a regulatory filing, Ford changed the way it measures pension gains and losses so they're counted in the year they occur.

Ford will record a pretax pension charge of about $3 billion for the year. It says the loss is a special item so it won't affect adjusted pretax profit. Ford still expects to meet guidance of about $10.2 billion in adjusted pretax profit for last year.

The company says its pension plan was underfunded by $8.9 billion in 2016, compared with $8.2 billion a year earlier.

Ford Motor Co. reports fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Thursday.