Posted on 11/22/2005 6:53:42 AM PST by Fawn
Ford Motor Co. took the first step in its next restructuring by confirming it plans to trim up to 4000 white-collar jobs in North America by the end of March.
Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, disclosed the plan in an e-mail distributed to Ford employees. The cuts will include full-time and contract positions. Some of the cuts will come through attrition but others will require layoffs, according to Fields, who is expected to lay out the full scope of the company's restructuring plan in January.
The plan is expected to include the closure of assembly plants and the reduction of other operations. The plan was originally due in October but William Clay Ford Jr., Ford's chairman and chief executive officer, decided to defer implementation to give Fields and his chief deputy Anne Stevens a chance to review the plans and put their own stamp on it.
Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers, confirmed last week that the union has opened discussions with Ford about revisions to the healthcare benefits that are part of the UAW's contract with the automaker. Gettelfinger didn't offer any timetable for completing the healthcare agreement with Ford, but the union has already agreed to a package of concessions to General Motors that is expected to save that automaker as much as $3 billion. Ford's problems with healthcare costs are not as severe as GM's because the company has fewer retirees, but they are still substantial.
Ford has already eliminated almost 3000 salaried positions in North America this year as part of its ongoing cost-cutting effort, which intensified last spring when it became apparent the company's critical North American operations were not going to reach their financial goals. Ford began the year with roughly 35,000 salaried employees.
The earlier cutbacks had included first involuntary layoff of Ford salaried personnel since the 1970s, and have since led to substantial reductions in the size of several employee groups, including the public relations unit and the sales organization, which is being streamlined. Part of the next round of cuts will come from the company's manufacturing operations, which are certain to be downsized when the full plan is revealed in January.
The job cuts are being driven by steep losses at the company's North American automotive business, which has lost $1.2 billion through the first three quarters of 2005. The rest of the company is profitable but still reported a third-quarter loss of $284 million due to the poor performance in North America.
Like General Motors, Ford's profitability has been undermined by the high cost of the incentives used to promote sales in the face of stiff competition and a decline in market share that has left it with too much assembly capacity. A steep drop in the sales of pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles also has hurt the company's profitability.
The announcement of new cutbacks in the white-collar ranks is certain to increase concerns about whether Ford can hang on to enough talented managers and professionals to meet future challenges. Several executives, including Phil Martens, the head of product development, and Mary Anne Wright, head of Ford hybrid-vehicle program, have left the company over the past couple of months.
Does anyone here believe that the domestic auto industry collapse WON'T lead to recession? I'd love to hear an analysis as to why this isn't bad for all of us?
Had either of these companies been able to consistently put out products that were competitive with the Japanese and Euros over the last couple of decades they wouldn't be trouble. Most people would all factors being even by American. But their are fewer who would buy American when it means buying a distinctly inferior car with pathetic resale value.
Well...I'm happy about one thing. I know they won't all be moving to Florida.....no one can afford to buy a home down here anymore....average price for an average family home is $400,000.
Sorry to say that I am one of those people who will not buy an American made car.
Nothing wrong with American-made cars, there are a lot of good ones, e.g. Toyotas, Hondas, etc.
Looks as if they are on the same track as a lot of companies. They lay off their engineers, designers and research people and keep the accountants, lawyers and clerks. Then a few years later they wonder why they don't have the new products to compete.
Unfortunately the US auto companies for years operated almost like government agencies. As long as the unions were quiet they didn't worry about cost because they could always raise prices or cut down on quality. They still haven't learned to compete with foreign companies.
"no one can afford to buy a home down here anymore....average price for an average family home is $400,000."
And that's a good thing?
Well...since I'm sick of people moving here....yep. To me, it's a good thing....
Ford is on the top of the list that discriminates against white males and christians. Their so called "diversity" policies actively pursue discrimination based soley on personal traits vice merit, character and intelligence. I wouldnt buy anything from Ford because of this. And yeah I know the others do it as well but Ford is the worst.
After my experience with my last one (Chevy Z71 pickup), and the experiences my wife and I have had with our Accord, our Corolla, and our beat up old T100, neither will I.
"Well...since I'm sick of people moving here....yep. To me, it's a good thing...."
Well, it's good to see that you're not self centered and worried about your fellow man. Fits perfectly with the upcoming season.
If you can believe the latest quality studies, GM is number 3 in the quality rankings, after Toyota and Honda. It doesn't appear that they are cutting quality. I hate GM, but it does appear that they are at least keeping up in the QA battles.
Hey Walmart - if you listen to the Unions goons, this will be you in a few years. Ford has Unions, GM has Unions, and both are going under.
They could have if not for the unions. Unions alone are responsible for the impending bankrupcies. Unions have become parasites that are destroying their hosts.
If not for unions, a new pickup would probably cost about $10,000 and would be well made.
A relative who works for a GM dealer tells horror stories about their quality and the way they deal with problems. I'm sure that if I knew people with other dealers I'd be afraid to drive any vehicle.
....I'm stuck where I live because of this unbelievablke boom....I can't afford to move so I'm not happy about the high priced homes at all.....I can't wait for it to bust. But, I'm sick of everyone and their families moving here too. We have 800 people a day moving to FLorida....and that doesn't include the illegals.
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