01-24-2006, 12:05 AM
I hope our fellow workers on the board dodge the bullet.
Rumour has it 25k workers are getting the axe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ford expected to cut in Canada
By GREG KEENAN
Friday, January 20, 2006 Posted at 11:13 PM EST
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Ford Motor Co. is expected to trim jobs in Canada as part of a plan to slash its work force by 25,000 people that will be announced Monday, industry observers said yesterday.
âYou have to have some sort of sharing of the pain,â David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research said yesterday. âI don't think anything is off the table.â
The restructuring plan will be far-reaching and comprehensive and is likely to include the auto maker getting out of the minivan business, said Mr. Cole, who heads the industry think tank, which is located in Ann Arbor, Mich.
If Ford takes an axe to its Canadian operations, the likely targets are the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, Ont., with about 1,100 employees, and an assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ont., where 2,500 people work. Salaried job cuts that are expected as part of the announcement will also almost certainly affect Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd., which employs about 14,000 people at those two plants, other engine operations in Windsor and another assembly plant and head office operations in Oakville, Ont.
Ford puts together its Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans at that Oakville plant, but the company said earlier this month that it will assemble two new sport utility vehicles there, which means the 3,000 jobs at the operation should be fairly safe.
Ford announced last fall that it will close its casting plant in Windsor, Ont., which will eliminate about 500 jobs.
Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove said earlier this week that he's most worried about Essex and St. Thomas.
Industry sources and analysts said Ford might eliminate one shift at the St. Thomas plant. Sales of Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans made there slumped 14 per cent last year to 132,657 from 154,843 in 2004. That's enough for about one shift.
Assembly plants in St. Louis, Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn., are expected to get the chop, along with several engine and components plants. Wire service reports said a total of 10 plants will be shut.
Slashing 25,000 jobs would represent about 20 per cent of Ford's North American automotive work force of about 120,000, which includes 35,000 salaried employees.
Ford spokesmen refused to comment yesterday.
âThe announcement on Monday will be North American in scope, and comprehensive,â said John Arnone, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd.
Ford's sales numbers for the first five years of the decade underline why it needs to close plants.
In 2000, Ford sold 4.5 million vehicles in Canada and the United States. Last year, it sold 3.4 million. That drop of 1.1 million is the equivalent of more than five assembly plants turning out 250,000 vehicles a year, the standard manufacturing footprint for such plants.
At the end of last year, Ford had enough production capacity to assemble more than four million vehicles even though it sold a little more than three million.
âInterestingly, we believe Ford's fixed costs are higher today, while Ford is producing 3.4 million units, than they were in 2000, when they produced over 4.7 million units,â Rod Lache, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said in a note to clients.
The problems at Ford are part of a massive cloud hanging over Detroit.
Ford's larger rival, General Motors Corp., the world's largest auto maker, unveiled a similar restructuring plan in November that includes cutting 30,000 jobs and closing several assembly plants, including one in Oshawa, Ont.
Of the once-mighty Big Three auto makers, only the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler AG is financially healthy.
Several parts makers, including giant Delphi Corp., are operating under creditor protection. :(
Rumour has it 25k workers are getting the axe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ford expected to cut in Canada
By GREG KEENAN
Friday, January 20, 2006 Posted at 11:13 PM EST
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Ford Motor Co. is expected to trim jobs in Canada as part of a plan to slash its work force by 25,000 people that will be announced Monday, industry observers said yesterday.
âYou have to have some sort of sharing of the pain,â David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research said yesterday. âI don't think anything is off the table.â
The restructuring plan will be far-reaching and comprehensive and is likely to include the auto maker getting out of the minivan business, said Mr. Cole, who heads the industry think tank, which is located in Ann Arbor, Mich.
If Ford takes an axe to its Canadian operations, the likely targets are the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, Ont., with about 1,100 employees, and an assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ont., where 2,500 people work. Salaried job cuts that are expected as part of the announcement will also almost certainly affect Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd., which employs about 14,000 people at those two plants, other engine operations in Windsor and another assembly plant and head office operations in Oakville, Ont.
Ford puts together its Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans at that Oakville plant, but the company said earlier this month that it will assemble two new sport utility vehicles there, which means the 3,000 jobs at the operation should be fairly safe.
Ford announced last fall that it will close its casting plant in Windsor, Ont., which will eliminate about 500 jobs.
Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove said earlier this week that he's most worried about Essex and St. Thomas.
Industry sources and analysts said Ford might eliminate one shift at the St. Thomas plant. Sales of Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans made there slumped 14 per cent last year to 132,657 from 154,843 in 2004. That's enough for about one shift.
Assembly plants in St. Louis, Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn., are expected to get the chop, along with several engine and components plants. Wire service reports said a total of 10 plants will be shut.
Slashing 25,000 jobs would represent about 20 per cent of Ford's North American automotive work force of about 120,000, which includes 35,000 salaried employees.
Ford spokesmen refused to comment yesterday.
âThe announcement on Monday will be North American in scope, and comprehensive,â said John Arnone, a spokesman for Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd.
Ford's sales numbers for the first five years of the decade underline why it needs to close plants.
In 2000, Ford sold 4.5 million vehicles in Canada and the United States. Last year, it sold 3.4 million. That drop of 1.1 million is the equivalent of more than five assembly plants turning out 250,000 vehicles a year, the standard manufacturing footprint for such plants.
At the end of last year, Ford had enough production capacity to assemble more than four million vehicles even though it sold a little more than three million.
âInterestingly, we believe Ford's fixed costs are higher today, while Ford is producing 3.4 million units, than they were in 2000, when they produced over 4.7 million units,â Rod Lache, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said in a note to clients.
The problems at Ford are part of a massive cloud hanging over Detroit.
Ford's larger rival, General Motors Corp., the world's largest auto maker, unveiled a similar restructuring plan in November that includes cutting 30,000 jobs and closing several assembly plants, including one in Oshawa, Ont.
Of the once-mighty Big Three auto makers, only the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler AG is financially healthy.
Several parts makers, including giant Delphi Corp., are operating under creditor protection. :(