Is this a union-busting strategy?
Sounds more like a strategy designed to make Ford competitive and profitable over the long term.
Should have been done decades ago.
Sounds like it. If Ford can dump UAW, they can leave Detroit for a right-to-work state.
Hope so.
Union-busting?
We can only hope. The only good union is a dead one.
Partly, but that’s not the macro-economic issue here.
There is an abundance of auto production in the world, period. There is far too much auto production capacity in the US, and the world (esp. Japan, Korea and the EU combined) to allow all companies to survive in their current form.
This is why GM got to the point of rolling up Saab. Is there a need for Saab cars out there? Nope. They fulfill no unique product requirement in the market, unlike (eg) Subaru, which has a pretty unique product in a niche market. Saab is just another Euro-weenie car, not unlike a dozen others.
Ford’s management (which is increasingly from outside Detroit) now sees this situation for what it is: a deflationary environment, where the consumer’s buying power will be crushed by declining wages and declining credit availability. Therefore, auto consumption will be constricted for years and years going forward, exacerbating the over-capacity in the US auto market.
The #1 obstacle to the Big Three shedding capacity has been the UAW - who have demanded featherbedding writ large in the form of keeping entire unprofitable product lines/plants in place, bleeding money off the balance sheet. This is what Ford wants to end-run by buying out the UAW, not the usual salary/benefit issues that the UAW imposes on Ford. There’s something else that Ford is probably looking to end-run here too, which is the UAW’s habit of “pattern bargaining” - which means that when the UAW shakes down Uncle Sugar over at Government Motors, the UAW’s precedent is to apply that deal to the other two automakers by previous contract requirement.
Ford is smart to get out from under the UAW. If they can get enough of the UAW to take the buy-out, I might just buy a buttload of F.
Is this a union-busting strategy?
Possibly. Ford competes with two American Car companies owned by the UAW. If it buys out its current union staff it can then say to the UAW to take a hike based on Anti Trust basis. The anti-trust laws are intended to prevent monopolies, the UAW cannot own a car company and then represent the workers of its competitors. I don’t think bammy and his minions really thought this one through. Ford will become a freemans company and with its newly designed fleet of cars will be able to run circles around GM and Chrysler. Look for Ford to implement their flex manufacturing with a freemen workers. They do it in Brazil with very good results. Imagine the amount of featherbedding they rid themselves of that GM and Chrysler have to maintain. This is what I think they are up to, whether they can pull it off in a facist state remains to be seen. If they are successful, I will buy their cars.
If it is, I'll never drive anything but a Ford for the rest of my life.
move headquauters and some manufacturing to a right to work state like Texas... that’s a union busting strategy!
Yes, and no it's more of a reality check, but the boards need to think of this in both direction, one you cannot compete with china and cheap labor with union rates, neither can you compete with china paying your worthless CEO and board 100's of millions of dollars. They all need a little dose of we are not going to have a job shortly.
This is very smart management strategy. It lowers the workforce by attrition as opposed to the meat ax approach. Ford is one of the few businesses who refused bailout $$. Buy Ford !
No, just a voluntary RIF with an incentive to leave.
no