Ford's Restructuring Plans "Way Forward"
 

Ford's announcement of up to 30,000 job cuts in North America, and up to
14 plant closures, is a shocking, painful blow that will shake the foundations
of the whole North American auto industry.

In Canada, Ford has formally announced the closure of its Windsor
castings plant, and other job reductions in Windsor that were anticipated in
the 2005 collective agreement negotiated last September between Ford and the
CAW. As a result of transitional measures and voluntary severance benefits
contained in that contract, we anticipate that the approximately 1100 jobs
which could be lost in Windsor as a result of these measures can be offset
through attrition and relocation within the time frame of the current
collective agreement (which expires in September 2008). Ford remains committed
to a new engine project for Windsor.
More surprising was Ford's announcement of the elimination of one shift
of production at St. Thomas in 2007, at a cost of some 1200 jobs. This is a
very negative and surprising development. It is a direct result of the decline
in Ford's share of the North American new vehicle market, and the aging nature
of the product produced at St. Thomas. The only positive news is that Ford
remains committed to the $200 million investment in updating the Crown
Victoria and Grand Marquis in St. Thomas.




UAW rips Ford's restructuring plans
DETROIT, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The head of the United Auto Workers blasted Ford Motor Co.'s plans Monday to close 14 factories and lay off up to 30,000 workers.

Ron Gettelfinger called the plan "extremely disappointing and devastating news for the many thousands of hard-working men and women who have devoted their working lives to Ford."

He vowed to enforce all contractually binding provisions that offer protection and benefits to affected UAW workers and retirees.

"The announcement has further left a cloud hanging over the entire workforce because of pending future announcements of additional facilities to be closed at some point in the future," Gettelfinger said.

"Unfortunately, analyst and media speculation during the last month has made these events even more wrenching for Ford workers, their families and communities," he said.

"The announced plant closings and future announcements are the subject of ongoing discussions with Ford. Certainly, today's announcement will only make the 2007 negotiations all the more difficult and all the more important.

"The UAW-represented workers affected by today's action are covered by the job security program and all other provisions and protections of the UAW-Ford National Agreement. Our union will rigorously enforce those programs."

I hope it works out for them... :)

It's sad that so many people will be losing their jobs... but with the raping the CAW has done to Ford/GM over the past couple of decades... did they expect something different?

Instead, they're basically saying they're OWED these jobs and that FORD is scum because of the layoffs, AND they're going to rape FORD even MORE to get "all contractually binding provisions that offer protection and benefits to affected UAW workers and retirees."

It's interesting how non-unionized plants are not having these issues or employee mistreatment issues these so-called Unions claim to protect their members from.

Good luck to all of them.

Well, this is EXACTLY what happens when people find it cool to buy Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi....etc, the domestic companies get fucked in the ass.

Ever since the advent of those blazing adventures of Ricer glory, aka: The fast and the furious (or the slow and the ricey) 1, 2 and now 3, there has been a HUGE insurgence of import faith and popularity. A product once viewed as a sort of "alternative route" that nobody (including the big three) took seriously has now suddenly flooded the market with their products and John Q. Public is eating them up.

Now, some will argue that "quality" is the issue here and is/was "driving" people to buy imports, well, the "quality" issue has been addressed for YEARS, it is the fact that imports are viewed as superior and you are driving a technologically-flawed dinosaur unless you are driving an Import. The Corvette gets better gas mileage than the Camry, but you don't hear people bragging about that now do you?

The funny part about this (if you can say there IS a funny part) is that the same people who are out there buying the new Honda Ridgeline, their wife drives a Civic, their son drives an Acura, their daughter a Corolla will be all upset and pissed that Ford is letting North America down because they are putting 30,000 people out of work......WAKE THE UP! The reason the domestic car market is in a decline (and has been for years) is because it got cool to buy imports, what was once viewed as a novelty is now mainstream and the "novelty" here is in watching the struggling domestic car companies try to pay their employees, their benefits and all their retirees because their sales have been heavily impacted and are they are now struggling to survive. These people should take a long hard look at themselves and their buying practices before they start pointing their fingers at GM and Ford and saying they are the problem here, take a long look in the mirror folks, its North American buying habbits that are to blame here, not the automobile manufacturers.

Now, I'm not pointing the finger at ANY of the import car makers, its not THEIR fault that people suddenly got a huge interest in their cars, the fact that there are no tarifs to pay to import their products here, that they can setup manufacturing/assembly facilities and assemble their cars over here and don't have the 50+ years of baggage in terms of benefits and retirees that the big three pay into makes the profits on their sales HUGE in comparison to any of the domestic companies.

Ford, GM and Chrysler have had basically free-reign on the domestic market since the car was first mass produced here. They have established a sort of automotive empire if you will, inside that empire is a heirarchical chain of companies and individuals that all feed the empire, this includes body panel manufacturing facilities, electronics companies, supply chains, 3rd party vendors....etc the list is HUGE. These companies and the individuals inside these companies all purchase the empire's product, its a delicate balance, a system that feeds itself and is engrained in the North American economy. The empire's product is being undercut now and when the empire suffers, the pain trickles down and the entire North American economy will suffer, and that means all of us.

Nobody has benefited from any of this except Hollywood film makers who get record sales to their hidious Slow and the Ricey films and of course the import car companies who are reaping the benefits of a market of sheep that will believe anything the mass-media publish. Anybody who wants to blame Ford, Dodge or GM here can take a look in their driveway, if it isn't a big-three product there, then the only person they can blame is themselves.

Rant mode off.

Overkill...good write up and good read. :tup

While I totally agree with you...I offer one caveat.

Most, if not all "imports" are being built for the North American market...IN NORTH AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!

Call them imports if you want too...but they're not.

Personally...when we replace the wife's grocery-getter, it will likely be a "big 3" vehicle.

Ironically...the wife is not a fan of the precise feel of the "imports"...she like the "sloppy" dis-connected feel/performace of the "domestics".

Personally...I think the wife is missing out! :banghead:

I agree, and I did make reference to that. While they are being manufactured here though, the manufacturing facilities do not have the same sort of overhead in terms of prior employees and their benefits/pensions, so there is a LOT more profit being made at these facilities then there are at the Domestic ones.

That's a load of BS. The ONLY overhead they do not share with the big 3 rape victims are UNION related overhead.

The employees are paid pretty much the same, and treated fairly - and that statement was delivered to me from a HONDA plant worker who says he would never want a Union to come in and destroy the, in his words "excellent relationship" the workers have with their employer (HONDA in that case).

None of these workers are OWED a job by any corporation, contrary to what the Union believes.

Why are so many people afraid to state what can be clearly seen? How much did you pay in Union dues in your lifetime. What did you get back for it? Was it worth it back then? Is it worth it now that you're left without a job? THINK... (rhetorical questions for anyone wanting to reply)

Actually...

"The average American content of the vehicles sold in America by U.S.-based companies is 80 percent, compared to 31 percent for Japanese manufacturers, 5 percent for European and 2 percent for Korean."
Source: Detroit News

That quote seems misleading...cause it would account for car components being built...and I'm referring to overall assembly....and it also doesn't account for "North America"....if memory serves...Canada builds a few things...as does Mexico.

I assumed that most vehicles in North America were "assembled" here.

I was referring to the fact that Ford has been employing people in North America at their assembly plants (as has GM) for DECADES! So, they are paying Pensions, benefits and things for employees who are no longer making them money, that is what I'm referring to as higher overhead. If Bill, his dad and his grandpa were all Ford Employees, Ford is paying the benefits for all THREE generations here, even though only the latest generation is now making money for them, understand now?

sir this is NOT the reason 30,000 workers are being laid off.Please stop with the rhetoric.

very true!

I believe you are correct, that does not take into account overall assembly. BUT when it says American content, it includes Canada, but NOT Mexico. The domestics build quite a few things in Mexico, whereas the the Imports don't.

Just to set things straight. Under NAFTA, vehicles built in Mexico, US and Canada, must, contain 62.5% North American content. Example: A Volkswagen built in Mexico with 62.5% of the parts coming from Mexico is NAFTA compliant.

Mike.

Don't bother...............grey matter seems to be missing.
Mike.

Sorry, but I need to go to work on this:

Actually they get it in the azz from bad management and poor quality in mid-sized cars.

In the 50's my grandparents laughed at VW's, in the 60's they laughed at Subaru's, In the 70's they laughed at toyota's, In the 80's we laughed at Hyundai's, in the 90's we laughed at Daewoo's, but after a while, the record speaks for itself. Total cost of ownership, total recalls, total TSB's, total residual value, overall satisfaction and build quality. That is why the public buys them, not because anyone told them too.

Agreed, but can you fit your family in your kickass technologically superior Corvette?

Refer to why above in point 2....


I'll point all the fingers I want to at Ford & GM, they have just as much chance to get me to buy a car as anyone else. If all buyers are now "sheep" as you suggest above, then they can do the same thing the imports did to get their buyers back in a 5 year plan. OOPS, they've already had 15 years to do it. I guess business acumen and bad management never factor in there eh?


50 years of "baggage". Wouldn't you think that would make you wiser?

Yes, there are huge repercussions. The auto industry IS the economy in one way or another, so it's time for them to think ahead, not ask for sympathy sales.

You kill me. I own two domestics and an Import. I've owned almost everything in the past. No german yet. I love domestic cars and I will always have one, but as normal daily transportation, they don't always win at the bottom line and that's how people live. With their bottom line. If the big three can crack the mid-sized market and win, they will get back on their feet. You can't live on sports cars and trucks alone. They need to make better mid-sized cars for lower prices, they will sell like hot-cakes and they will return to financial liberation. People that only own one car and are not enthusiasts will only change habits with cost/benefit results.

At that point, they'll also have me back in that market segment. Until then my friend. :shakeit:

I respectfully disagree.

This is what happens when you go from bulding quality cars to cheap & unreliable crap. Ford and Chrysler have really started to change...GM on the other hand is light years behind.

I don't buy Ford because it's "Ford" I buy it because I like the Mustang. I own a Chevy, Dodge and a Ford and I'm looking at buying a Lexus next time around because, unfortunately, there's no domestic car that can compete in this certain segment.

A perfect example is that of my father. A man closing in on 60 years old, goes to purchase his first new car in his life. He's a big supporter of domestic cars. After looking into many options, he bought a Honda Civic Si.

Why? Better quality, better resale.

Later in 2006, GM will no longer be the largest car maker in the World. The fall of GM from the top can hardly be blammed on a movie, but rather the quality of the product they produce.

They are selling vehicles (currently) in segments that they have had their way with for decades (the domestics) we have had LOTS of mid-sized sedans from the big three (the grand prix, grand am, bonneville, Taurus, Breeze....etc) they just don't sell like their import cousins.

There were a LOT of people "persuaded" by that triad of movies, and like it or not, there are a LOT of sheep out there, read "The Lottery" for a prime example of how sheepish the human race can be, we covered it in 2nd year advanced English at University. I can think of a plethora of examples of human sheep-like activity, the entire Nazi movement for example. Now of course the argument to oppose that is that "well not everybody agreed with the Nazi's" and you are correct, but not everybody buys imports, and not everybody is a sheep. There are leaders, and there are followers, for the most part, the human race consists of followers, some of whom are blind.

My point about the Corvette is that the domestic car companies have the ABILITY and the means to produce a vehicle that will get superior gas mileage and offer superior performance, and just because it has eight cylinders does not make it a gas guzzler. GM has released a variety of higher-powered yet still economical vehicles in the last while, but Imports are still out-selling them. in the hay-day of Muscle cars, dealers like Tasca, Yenko and the like went out and raced for the manufacturers they represented, this was used to help win sales. Then, the oil crisis hit, and this activity was largely snubbed out. Until the advent of the "Fast and the Furious" movies, Imports were generally viewed as nothing more than rather bland economy cars. "Souping up" import cars was almost exclusively a southern-California thing where young Asian kids were trying to extract every ounce of performance out of the small 4-cylinder engines.

Once those movies were released, there was a HUGE increase in import popularity nation-wide, and all of a sudden the entire mentality of how an Import car was percieved did a 180. It was no longer a bland economy car, it was now a fuel-efficient "tuner" car that could look flashy and was "youthful" unlike its domestic counterparts. Why do you think Honda, Toyota and Hyundai sell cars that I would consider "pre-riced" now? Its the youthful "flair" that muscle cars used to provide "back in the day", but modernized. This is what makes this entire ordeal so damaging, its not just current car buyers, its the next generation as well, the people who will be buying cars in the next few years and have been hit by the "import buzz". Like the Muscle Car era, it will take something huge that would rock this entire system on its axis in order to change the direction this system is headed, the oil crisis did this for the Muscle Cars, what could possibly do it for "The Imports" ?

I agree that GM has gone through a huge pile of quality issues, but you say you are thinking of purchasing a Lexus, have you looked at any of the new Cadillacs? What about something from BMW or Mercedes? I would consider a vehicle from ANY of those three "on par" with a Lexus. What about a Lincoln LS even?

Peeps do not buy cars based on a Movie. How many movies are made based on a domestic car? Dukes of hazard, Gone in 60 sec, two lane black top.... I ca go on forever, have you ever imagined a import company sitting there "This is why we don't sell cars... We need to make a movie with OUR cars in it! Besides, there were domestic cars in both F&F movies also.

I bought my first import (VW Jetta) after repeated Failures of my Domestics daily drivers while watching several family members roll 450K+ on their VW's without ever having a major repair. My 1995 Jetta feels like a brand new car at 170K. The last straw was when my sister borrowed my 2002 Dodge Dakota for a week and I drove her 460K 1997 Golf to work. It had less rattles and drove smoother than my new truck! Heck, my previous 10 domestic daily drivers all rattled like a can and almost every dam luxury in it no longer functioned. Sure as shiat, every dam feture (Power options) still worked in the Golf.

Fact: My 2002 Dodge Dakota has more rust on it than my original 1995 Jetta. That pissses me off.

Not saying Imports dont break but how many domestics and money does a guy have to go through before he wants to try something else?

Import companies also employ thousands of Canadian Families and are expanding even more.

I wont buy new again anyway so in reality I support no company. I took the hit once when I bought my 2002 Dakota for $40K. I tried to trade it in in 2004 and the most I was offered was $12,000! It had 50,000K on it.......

I do however see Domestic companies being slapped wit the reality hand, they will now be forced to be more competitive.

Funny thing to add, I was walking the line today and saw a thing,
A guy reading the paper about the ford layoff's WHILE HE is working. He was installing main bearings.....

One last thing... Why is is never mentioned when an impost plant openes up in North america? No-one guves thanks to the families they employ, they just blame them when a domestic plant closes.


Thats all!

"Peeps" as you referred to them as DO often make decisions based on marketing (that's why we have ads on TV), and if a movie MARKETS a car (or group of them, does the green Mustang from Bullit ring a bell?) it does in fact help sell cars. Gone in 60 seconds was a great example and actually did re-create an interest in the 60's/70's Mustangs, and yes, Dukes of Hazzard DID promote an interest in the Charger. There WERE domestic cars in the Slow and the Ricey series, you are correct, I remember a Saleen Mustang getting run-over by a Kenworth, a Lightning getting used as a parts-getter and two-antique Muscle cars (Yenko Camaro, stock, 425HP SAE GROSS and a Hemi something) getting beat by ricers on spray. The only domestic that "did well" was the Charger in the first one, but hell, it blew up! Those movies BLASTED domestics BAD and the 3rd one (featuring the '60's Mustang with a Nissan TT I6 in it) is taking that over the top!

That's because Volkswagen's are very well built cars, my auto mechanics teacher was on his 2nd one, it was FREE because he rolled 1,000,000 miles on the first one and so they gave him a 2nd one free! Both were diesels. Volkswagen's aren't featured in that triad of movies though, so they aren't really relevant to what I'm saying. There is not a mass insurgence of german cars in North America, even though I would probaby say they are the best built cars in the world.

Yes, they are employing "thousands" but the big three employ HUNDREDS of thousands, there is a HUGE difference there!

That is a pretty wise decision, I don't buy new either, I own three Ford's, but they are all used. My parents bought both of their vehicles new (2000 Expedition Eddie Bauer, 2003 Lincoln Town Car Cartier), but they typically keep a car for at least 10 years.......so for them, and people who have the money, knowing that you are the only person who has driven this vehicle, I'm sure provides some piece of mind.

Yes, but this has been the case between the 3 of them for a while now, GM was having some major quality issues (before the import thing happened) and started losing some serious sales......this new phenomenon is just the icing on the cake for GM and pushed things over the edge. Its hard to be competitive with companies who's headquarters exist in an ecomony who's dollar is a small fraction of our own, who pay their employees PENNIES to manufacture parts, then to appear "Proud of North America" create a few assembly lines here and assemble vehicles from those parts that were manufactured for pennies by people being paid pennies over here and don't have 40 years of union/health-care/pension dues that they are paying on in the North American market, so they can afford to sell their cars cheaper while still making off with incredible profits. They are making USD/CAD here and when that money goes back to their shores, the value of it is insane! The import car companies have far less in terms of overall expenses (not including BMW, Mercedes or any of the European cars in this "generalization") because most of the CONTENT of their cars is made in places like Korea and China where it can be manufactured for very little money.



Where do you work? That's just plain hidious :)

Because the positives in terms of employment opportunities this provides is offset by the number of jobs it will end up costing one of the big three, who at this point, are FAR MORE a part of our economy than any of these import companies are, which is the point I was trying to get across in my original post. Hitler was instrumental in providing a car for every German Family, the Volkswagen, the "People's Car", now that doesn't make the Volkswagen a bad car (as we've already discussed) but that doesn't mean that the fundemental move behind this (uniting Germany, bribing the German people) was a good one.

Just because Import car companies create assembly plants over here in order to appeal to the common American/Canadian to make them feel like they are interested in "helping out" North America, doesn't mean that is actually the case.

Who can forget the Jetta getting owned by the S2000? They hit the spray 20 times! LOL

http://www.geocities.com/djsanzzz/Th...us_-_jetta.JPG

http://allgoods.ca/store/images/1995...en%20Jetta.jpg

That's right! Those movies have ONE message on this subject:

Japanese cars = teh win! anything else = teh sux!

Someone needs to make a reality F&F. None if this bridge jumping, color coordinated exhaust flame BS.

But then they'd discover they AREN'T the fastest cars in the world and that a Honda B16 lasts about a week making 600HP! And of course that is contrary to the message they have already delivered time and time again!

Wait a minute, you mean can't pull a "General Lee" off a bridge, fall through the air 30ft and drive away? LIES! They did it in the movie, its gotta be true!