[Erik Latranyi]

Why would FOMoCo do that? Simple. Five years of vastly increased profits and concomitant debt reduction. Ford is in trouble financially, and the Chinese have offered them a solution.

Are vastly increased profits bad? Is that not the basis for capitalism? Ford owes this to its stockholders who are mainly ordinary workers.

Billy Ford's interests lie in maximizing the value of his shares, not in maintaining FoMoCo's employment in America. Henry Ford would kill this poor kid, if he got his hands on him.

Two different eras. I think Henry would kill Billy if he did not take the actions necessary to keep the company alive.

[ninenot]

Focus on profit to the exclusion of all other factors is a very dangerous thing. That's why corporate success stories include references to their workers, mid-managers, etc.,; the people who actually come up with the ideas to improve the Company's operations.

But since you think all workers are merely ciphers on a spreadsheet, you might not get that concept, Erik.

[ninenot]

Frankly, I think Henry would have killed HFII, would have LOVED Iacocca, and then killed Billy's predecessor as well as Billy.

Ford understood that "preservation of the Company" is much easier to do if the Company's employees can afford to buy his products. On the larger scale, it will be helpful if average citizens in the USA can buy FoMoCo product--evidently Billy thinks so, regardless of whether they are employed.

[XBob]

202 - "Are vastly increased profits bad? Is that not the basis for capitalism? Ford owes this to its stockholders who are mainly ordinary workers."

You really should correct your impressions, and make that 'former workers'. The new workers, the chinese Ford workers, can't afford any Ford stock.