Ford to Slash Production, Shutter Plants

[kurth]

Ford to Slash Production, Shutter Plants
The Associated Press
Friday, August 18, 2006; 9:58 AM

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. on Friday announced sharp cuts in its North American production that would force it to partially shut down plants in the U.S. and Canada in the fourth quarter. The company said fourth-quarter production would be down 21 percent, or 168,000 units, from last year.

"We know this decision will have a dramatic impact on our employees, as well as our suppliers," Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford said in a note to employees. "This is, however, the right call for our customers, our dealers and our long-term future."...

The nation's second-largest automaker said the cuts are an effort to match inventories to demand and avoid costly incentives. The plan also reflects reduced expectations for big trucks and sport utility vehicles considering high gas prices, the company said.

The new production plan will result in downtime this year at assembly plants in St. Thomas, Ontario; Chicago; Wixom, Mich.; Louisville, Ky.; Wayne, Mich.; St. Paul, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Norfolk, Va.; and Dearborn, Mich.; Ford said

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/18/AR2006081800339.html

[goclark]

1. And Toyota is doing very well I believe

[Mr_Spock]

3. What does that mean?

??

[goclark]

6. My relatives work for FORD

and I am extremely concerned that the American made cars are not meeting the needs of the American public.

[noonwitch]

9. I like my 2005 Focus!

the price was around what a Toyota costs. I've had no problems with it, and it drives very smoothly.

I'm partial to the 6-disc cd player and the heated seats (in the winter).

[jsamuel]

10. what kind of mpg does it get?

[RebelOne]

11. And I like my 1999 Taurus!

I bought in 2001 for a great price. It doesn't have heated seats, but I do have a 6-disc CD player. This is my second Taurus and I love them,

[Kolesar]

5. Toyota is still part of the petroleum/overconsumption nexus..

..that is destroying the planet. They are opposed to increased fuel economy standards.

I would like to see them run commercials telling people to drive less or get a bicycle.

[OhioChick]

2. In the meantime........

isn't Ford building a new plant/plants in Mexico?

[acmavm]

4. I do believe you're right about Mexico, but there's more

foreign countries than that involved:

<snip>
‘Free’ trade betrays U.S. workers

Local 36 members, supporters protest Ford exporting jobs
http://www.uaw.org/solidarity/rnews/05/q1/r1a/r1a_01.cfm

<snip>
Early this year, Ford closed its plant in Edison, New Jersey, after more than fifty-five years of producing cars and trucks there. A Ford spokesman said it would be too expensive to retool that plant so that it could produce different models. About 300 of the plant’s 900 workers were relegated to early retirement, while others were transferred to Ford plants elsewhere in the country. Most important, at least 400 jobs were eliminated. Ford is, however, investing heavily in Asia and has set up a new regional headquarters in Thailand.

General Motors, long the symbol of Detroit’s automotive might, has introduced a new Chevy, the Equinox. The Equinox is assembled in Canada with a Chinese-made engine. Now, the three most expensive parts of any automobile are the body, engine, and transmission. With the Equinox featuring a foreign-built engine, more than a third of the vehicle’s cost is being transferred—and paid out—to China and not to American suppliers or workers. An interesting statistic: Employment in the U.S. auto industry has dropped by 200,000 jobs over the past four years. During that same time, imports of Chinese auto parts have doubled.

http://www.twbookmark.com/books/32/0446577448/chapter_excerpt19382.html

AND THEN there's this useful handy dandy site:

<snip>
Here is a list of companies we've confirmed are "Exporting America." These are U.S. companies either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labor, instead of American workers.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/popups/exporting.america/content.html

[KelleyKramer]

7. 200,000 jobs lost ?!?

"Employment in the U.S. auto industry has dropped by 200,000 jobs over the past four years."

Wow!

[acmavm]

8. Great economy george has got going, ain't it????????

[madville]

12. American made cars

"American" made cars don;t have much going for them these days. Higher maintnance, lower resale, cheap mexican and chinese parts. I have been converted, I used to own nothing but Fords for years but in 1994 I bought a Nissan, then another one, then had a Honda car for awhile and am settled into a Toyota truck at the moment. The Japanese cars are more American these days, My Tacoma was built in West Virginia I think.

You never hear about Toyota or Honda having financial problems or laying people off. One reason might be because they don't have the larger overhead that comes with a union workforce. Most of the Japanese plants in the U.S. are in the South and non-union correct ?

[TheFriedPiper]

14. It's more about golden parachutes and CEO pay than unions

[NNN0LHI]

17. Low overhead?

I just made an appointment for a root canal next week. $975.00 for that two or three hours of hell. I don't think the Endodontics guy doing it is unionized. A lot of people I know can't even afford to go have one done. Is that all the unions fault too?

The only reason I can afford to go have it done is the Dental Insurance that my union bargained for in the union contract that I am retired under will pay about half of it.

Don

[madville]

18. What ?

I'm not putting the unions down. I was just saying that right now companies like Toyota have an advantage because they might be paying a worker $14 an hour in WV or TN while Ford or GM has to pay the same worker $20+ an hour in their UAW plants. That plays a part in the fact that a Toyota-type corp. provides a higher quality, more durable product than a Ford or GM-type might.

[TheFriedPiper]

13. American cars are designed by the marketing department

Unless they turn the design back over to the engineers, Japan and Germany will continue to dominate in the quality department.

[spanone]

15. Blaming it on gas prices. These people have greed without vision.

An 'oil' president and an 'oil' war and GM had no idea gas prices would rise.

May they die a thousand deaths.

[Bombero1956]

16. surprises me how many people give Toyota, Honda etc. a free pass

All the Japanese car makers make SUVs but the only ones who are made to look like gas guzzlers are the Fords and Chevys.

[Subdivisions]

19. Just more evidence of

globalisation and a world government system.