OK THIS (http://focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72360) thread got out of hand so I thought it would be nice to have a fresh one with "after the fact" reactions...

I will update this first post with links to various official reactions from mainsteam media as I find them..


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MEDIA BUZZ
Yahoo Biz: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060123/ford_restructuring.html?.v=15
CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/23/news/companies/ford_closings/index.htm?cnn=yes
MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10946664/
Reuters: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-01-23T183124Z_01_WEN8305_RTRUKOC_0_US-AUTOS-FORD-RESTRUCTURING.xml
Bloomberg: http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/new...efer=news_index
Edmunds: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109019

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Summary of the announcement:
CUTS
14 plants to close by 2012. 12 of those by 2008. 7 of those are assembly plants.
25k - 30k workers will be laid oof, but most of them by attrition.
10% reduction in management
reduction in salaries

NEW PLANS
more long term focus
no more deep incentives
no more "business as usual
focus on small (B and C) cars
build a low cost plant for small cars (location in NA but no more details)
more money to Quality Control and Research, with more freedom to develop their techniques for best results
more accountability of management
profitability in NA by 2008
better relationship with fewer suppliers
more part sharing in technology department
more focused design and development
more management accountability
every new model should be profitable
3.2 years between redesigns from current 4.4
more distinctive "bold" design
by 2010 half of cars sold are to be hybrids
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I think that is about it.

Igor

igor, i was just going to post the bloomberg announcement:

bloomberg.com
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aypqPx5i5HLQ&refer=news_index

i do like the idea of, "playing offense," and i think that all of the major US automakers need to start waking up. also, the idea of new models in 3.2 years with profitability may be a little ambitious, but i also agree that they need to be done to find a niche or vein that hasn't been molested by GM or Toyota. and i agree that it sucks that Ford is closing US plants, but that's the reality of the situation: it's easier to pay cost of living in hermosilo, MX than detroit, MI. but regardless, hopefully we'll see more new vehicles with some styling pizzazz (unlike the 500) that go out on a limb, exciting people. just my rant. good luck to those affected, my heart goes out to you.

Add, by 2010 more than half the Ford and Lincoln vehicles will be availible with Hybrid. I think that is a huge statement for Ford right there, they are going to begin focusing on something major with that move.

Also add, that they want their new cars and trucks to have a truely "distinctive AMERICAN design", and that they "innovative design, something that you'll look and and KNOW it's a Ford."

I hope they follow through with that being said about American design, I'd like to see some new truely unique styles come out of Ford, no more following the crowd.

updated first post...

i am not to happy to hear about the job loss however it is good to see ford has a vision and a way to (hopefully) better the company

Why does the picture show them making the old Focus ?

Maybe that's the problem. Assembly workers are making the wrong cars and eating up valuable resources.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/COVER/060123/STG_HZ_PainfulCuts_920a.jpg

^^^ LOL^^^

^^^ I noticed that too.. oh well.. MSNBC was never the brightest of them all ...

Back on topic though.... [:)]

Igor

It had to happen sooner or later, its how business works it jsut very very unfortunate that all of those workers have to suffer for FOrd's mistakes. If Ford didn't get itself back on track imagine how many people would've lost their jobs too though...

I think Ford has the right idea, although (with members of my family working for Ford) it sucks about all the job losses.

I just hope they follow through with their promises.

If they decide to build the Ford Reflex that they displayed at the auto show, it should capture some of those who buy the compact hybrid cars such as Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. Those cars are ugly and if Ford can make a car that gets the same gas mileage (65mpg) as them and look a hell of a lot better, then they WILL capture market share. I want a car that gets 65mpg, but I would never buy an Insight or Prius.....

Ford is taking a VERY AGGRESSIVE approach stating full profitability by 2008....I don't see that happening unless they are extremely close to it already....

On a related but separate topic, I got an email in my Ford mailbox this morning stating that "Today, Ford announces it has made profit for the 3rd year running." IMO, they chose the wrong day to announce a profit, when they were telling 25,000 they were losing their jobs. That was extremely tactless....

edmunds link added

Igor

Sucks for the people losing their jobs.
But it's about time Ford does something to become a better manufacturer.
All though the fact that they do not mention closing the factories in Mexico might be a step to all ford's becoming even worse.
Maybe in 2012 i'll buy another ford if it says made in USA on the sticker.

^^one of the Mexican plants is possibly on the list.

2 of the 14 plants were not announced at all, and one of the mexican ones is rumored to be one of the remaining 2.

igor

Originally posted by Portuga
Sucks for the people losing their jobs.
But it's about time Ford does something to become a better manufacturer.
All though the fact that they do not mention closing the factories in Mexico might be a step to all ford's becoming even worse.
Maybe in 2012 i'll buy another ford if it says made in USA on the sticker.

Maybe they will do better in America if they stop screwing Americans with outsourcing BS. Hopefully Ford can bounce back, destroy Honda in the process (ok, too optimistic) and give them there jobs back.

Hmmm, Hope the stockholders are happy...least we forget what this is all about.
Is Ford doing the right thing...only time will tell. Pretty obvious by the large number of plant closures they are in a bad way right now. The landscape is rapidly changing and the Chinese are on their way.
If one were to ask me...I'd have to say GM and Ford should pioneer the availability of alternative fuel sources at the stations, and provide the engines to run on them. The Reflex hits the mark...an alternative fuel hybrid. Lead the world out of economic supression by cynical oil countries. Make American cars that are reliant on American fuel. That's the way to lead. That's the way to sell cars to Americans. Gasoline is fast becomming the single most
unstablel factor of the future of our way of life. Relieve that pressure, and watch the $$$ come rolling back.

I have heard no rumors about a Mexico plant being closed, but I have heard rumors of the Wayne Assembly Plant/Michigan Truck Plant closing down....

I will be bummed if they close Wayne--That is where my car is from.

Good post Chalon. I feel for the workers, obviously mass lay-offs are never a good time. But they've mentioned this as a likely possibility in the recent past, and if the choice is fire x # workers or have the whole company go belly-up... well it's a decision that has to be made.

Now Hopefully after these firings and closings and stuff they DO get their act together and it works out to be a good move in the end. Greg, that was rather tactless of them to send that email with such timing, yikes don't they think?!

well sooner or later something had to happen. I feel for all who will lose there jobs. What did they expect. Almost everyone I know is experincing harder times than a year ago. I make decent money and things are much tighter around my house lately. When everything else goes up like gas, credit cards payments, heating, medical insurance and peoples pay dosen;t who can afford to pay 35,000 for a explorer or full size truck. Why when you can go get a foriegn jobby like a tundra for 28,000? I want to buy american, but I drive old cars as I can't afford a new truck. If I could every dollar saved means that much more my family has to be able to do stuff together. We say money isn't everything but try to do anything without it. I just hope they rebound and fire the plants back up.

I know what it's like to lose a job. I'm sure many of us do or will someday. But between Ford and GM, that's like 50 to 60,000 people. They say over several years but I know it's gonna hurt. And look at the garbage coming out of American car companies compared to Toyota and Honda. They need to not just match the Japanese products, they really need to blow their doors off! Like make the cars so there's just no contest. They've actually been claiming "We're gonna turn things around" for many years, but I sure don't see it. I don't see how these companies are even allowing the garbage to get off the drawing board. And here in Hawaii. the dealer markup is outrageous! It's like 5-10,000 dollars. For just run of the mill, ordinary cars! [:(]

Originally posted by bunyz06rabbitt
I know what it's like to lose a job. I'm sure many of us do or will someday. But between Ford and GM, that's like 50 to 60,000 people. They say over several years but I know it's gonna hurt. And look at the garbage coming out of American car companies compared to Toyota and Honda. They need to not just match the Japanese products, they really need to blow their doors off! Like make the cars so there's just no contest. They've actually been claiming "We're gonna turn things around" for many years, but I sure don't see it. I don't see how these companies are even allowing the garbage to get off the drawing board. And here in Hawaii. the dealer markup is outrageous! It's like 5-10,000 dollars. For just run of the mill, ordinary cars! [:(]

I agree with you. A lot of people get lost in flag-waving sentiment, but there is one thing that is more American than anything else - capitalism. In the capitalist system, the better product sells and the weaker product does not. After that whatever happens, happens.

My Focus is a nice little car, it handles better than most econo-boxes out there. Having said that, the 2000 Focus had 13 recalls - 13!!! That's amazing. The quality of my Ford product has seriously let me down as well, I won't be buying another one. Like I said, I love DRIVING my car, but I don't like living with it. I have 81K miles on the clock and have developed the follwoing issues (with rigorous mainintenace followed above and beyond the call of duty):

Oil leak from somewhere.
Failed fuel pump
Failed gasket in thermostat housing
Intermittent idling issue
Umpteen million recalls that were a big inconvenience.

Ford needs to fix all this stuff. It's not enough to make a car that looks interesting and drives nicely, you need to build up a reputation for rock solid reliability and I don't think they've done that (consumer reports can back that up w/solid numbers).

The Japanese make interesting product that is a very good value (Civic Si for example) that you KNOW is not going to have mechanical problems.

Ford is also saddled with very expensive union contracts and pension expenses that they can do nothing about - but I think that without fixing the former it doesn't matter what they do about the latter.

It's something that was going to happen sooner or later. With Ford's product lines shrinking, they had too much production capacity. Somehow, I doubt Wayne is going to be closed, as it's the only plant in N. America where the focus is built, unless they decide to move focus production to atlanta (doubtful).

As for the workers, they have plenty of time to get their things in order and find other jobs. Unlike those of us who don't have the UAW in our lives, they will still be getting paid even after the plant gets closed in an effort to ease their change in life. It's sad that they are losing their jobs, but it isn't like Ford is saying "the plant's closed piss off, and by the way we cut your benefits and you won't be getting paid anymore". I think that Ford is doing right by their plant workers. Nobody is entitled a job, and while the UAW helped them tremendously, it also screwed them in the end by making them more costly than the non union shops that Nissan,Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Mercedes run in our country while producing cars that were subpar.

Maybe I'm bitter as someone who has been through a fair number of layoffs with none of the nice things provided to Ford's plant workers. Maybe I know how the real world is and know that to get the things I want, I have to bust my tail. Anyways, that's my $.02

more news today - All from Edmunds:

1. The 3.5l Dura V6 is being oficially put into Zephyr. ater lengthy rumors this is first official word: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109027

2. Ford rejected bid for Jaguar from French Renault: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109025

3. Yesterday's news: Fordd working on a completely recyclable car - concept by 2008
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109023


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Washington Post commentary: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10995785/

Nwesweek Commentary: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10988134/


Igor

Also bear in mind that when I've bought Fords, I've insisted on Mexican built ones because they seem to have fewer issues than their american built counterparts. In my family, we're big on Fords. Over the years, we've had a few Contours (2 made in Kansas City, 2 in Mexico). The Kansas City cars had a fair number of assembly issues. Parts coming loose inside and out (dashboard, seats, blower motor nearly caused a fire in one), while the Mexican built cars were almost flawless. When I bought my focus, I chose the ZX3 because it was a hatchback, and also knowing that since the hatchbacks (prior to 2005 at least) were only made in Mexico. I had a reasonably assurance that it would be ok. unfortunately, my focus has had mechanical issues. Hey, can't get a Ford that doesn't have some parts made by UAW labor. Do I have issue with Ford? No. Do I have issue with the design? Not so much. Do I have issue with the fact that the union made product tends to be worse than the mexican built product? Yes, so I buy the mexican made one and pray that nothing goes wrong while hoping that the money that does find its way to Dearborn helps keep the company going. I'm all for buying american, but only if the product isn't crap. My next car will likely be a Honda. I want something that I can count on, and it's nice to know that a reliable, solid product is made in this country, even if not by an American company.

About the plant closings - these are the announced ones:
Wixom
Michigan Truck
2 Windsor Engine Plants
Atlanta
St Louis
Batavia, Ohio transmission Plant

rumored ones include one of the Mexican plants (not Hermossilio (PS?) ...

iantm

I actually agree with you. I refuse to blame the UAW for everyhig, but I saw my share of ridiculous union moves - I live in Philly and had to suffer through pub. transport strike over fully covered medical benefits, something no one else gets (!!)

Yesternday's statement by UAW was that Ford should not fire people, instead they should rank up their market share... (!!!!) ... that just let me know the midset UAW has about capitalism and its workings. I myself am not a fan of market economy, but so far it is the best we came up with, and this country herolds it beyond anyone else. Ford's cuts are part of it, and if Unions refuse to get hold of reality, they will simply jeopardize all of their workers, instead of helping them. I believe unions are needed, but their current work renders them more harmful then helpful.

Over the past 5 years I have witnessed about 5-7 union negotiations that were more or less affecting me and have to say only in one of these negotiations the union was helpful in preventing hte firm from screwing over the workers... only in that one case the union came out with very reasonable and very well set goals and I agreed with their fight... (it was the Admin. Assistants at my college who were give an contract with less benefits than any other comparable unions in that college - UAW, Carpenters, Custodians ..) In all other cases the union's demands were floating in the mindset fromc70's and 80's with full humongous benefits, and low productivity, I believe current UAW leadership is stuck in this mindset as well, and they need a stict reality check before they run all of their workers out of work.

Igor

More Media Buzz....

NewsWeek Commentaries:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11008004/site/newsweek/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11008158/site/newsweek/ (this one is only moderately related)

Igor

A lot more money is tied up in design than we think. The streamlining of the process to go from design to manufacture that Chrysler developed in the late 80's is what has made ChryCo so profitable since.

Where unions have screwed up, and I see this in my own trade (IBEW electrician), is that the workers are not encouraged to improve their skills or upgrade their skills. Why would you if you were going to get raises anyway? The way that things are supposed to work is that unions provide in house training from experience to improve the new laborer, and provide laborers with higher quality without the contractor having to invest in education. On the worker side, the unions insure benefits, fair working conditions, and some democratic control over the workplace. The union worker is supposed to be superior in quailty to offset the higher wages, and benefits of the union package. In a perfect world, the union would help more than hurt the contractor and worker.

The UAW should've been considering the quality of the worker especially since the corporate/political climate (even Democrats) has been anti-union since stagflation in the 70's. Sadly, UAW leadership preferred to sit on the duffs and not look forward to increased demand for high skilled labor in the near future. With all the corporations that have lost valuable corporate secrets to their overseas manufacturers- I'd think American workers would start looking appealing again very soon if unions had some foresight instead of being happy with the status quo. This is what the AFL-CIO is proposing now, but the UAW recently dropped out of that organization because their leadership didn't agree with plans to focus on the drawbacks of unionized labor as it is in the economy now.

What we can expect to see in the near future- which will be blamed on unions- is a degradation of the quality of life for the American wage earner. We will be paid less, we will lose benefit packages, and we will be blamed and outcast in the media for every corporate downfall. Already the US worker is far behind industrialized European workers as far as standard benefits. The basic idea is that it is not as profitable to move the newly industrialized third world workers up to the level of the older industrialized nation workers- even when comparing standard of living differences- than it is move the "western" workers down. Anyone who thinks that government organizations will prevent this needs to wake up because a democratic government doesn't work if the people don't take interest in policing it's operations. Already congress passed laws that give corporations a way to get out of pension plans and benefits promised to workers hired in the 60's -70's. For now we're all convinced that we should provide for our own retirement out of our pay (401k, IRA), and it all looks okay. In the future we will most likely see laws passed to absolve corporations from obligations to match 401k contributions, and some people will lose vested balances forcing them to work as greeters at Wal-Mart when they are 80 if WM hasn't moved to robotic greeters by then.

I do not wonder why those politicians who propose that the government do more to police the overseas activities of US based corporations are shunned from their parties, but we the people, should do what we can to insure that overseas employees of our corporations are being treated fairly and equally in benefits as our workers are. 3 reasons: One day we will be like them one way or the other, unfair treatment by US based corporations provides ample recruiting propaganda for terrorists, and last but not least... those Christian values that as a nation we sometimes talk more about than actually do. IT takes about 20 years for ideas to get from the people to legislation... so we should do as much as we can now to support those organizations who are proposing these ideas now.

[V] sorry Igor... I did not intend to hijack your thread when I started writing that.. I just got a little carried away.

[spank]

very good post. I absolutely agree....

Unfortunately I do not see unions anywhere doing what you say they should.. I grew up in europe, and I still laugh when unions from private corporations protest in front of the parliament, because their factory is closing....

The point about 3rd world workers ivery true and it will be a great day when the people and government of this country realize it... Some europeans and some european politicians realize it and it makes a big difference in the way we perceive the outsourced workers... but it also makes us less "competitive" when US of A is turning its labor market into a 3rd world labor market...

there are many things about the EU that make me want to stay in US, but labor relations and labor regulation is one of the reasons I long for returning there.

Igor

Originally posted by whynotthinkwhynot
[V] sorry Igor... I did not intend to hijack your thread when I started writing that.. I just got a little carried away.

[spank]

no hijaking done....
this was supposed to be the place to discuss this... It just got prevailed by my posts about the media buzz, because there doesn't seem to be that much interest in posting.

[:(]

Igor

OH.. I might add that I recently drove a Cobalt with a VIN that started with a 1. GM seems to have fewer quality problems with union labor than Ford, and after 9/11 moved plants BACK to the US. Of course, they were probably thinking that we were going to see a resurgance in the "Made in America" ideal of the 80's, and proper policing of the borders.. that just didn't happen.

I think the biggest problem is QC. Most of the issues I've had with the manufacture of my wagon, which was made in the US, could've been avoided with better quality control practices. I'm not blaming the QC person.. but the policies behind the number of times the QC person views the vehicle. There's also some bad old methods that cost Ford more money to manufacture the car which are more to blame than union wages. Engineering quality could be better too... open areas in the inner fenderwell which allow water and leaves thrown from the wheel to get inside the fender.... etc. It seems as if Ford cut corners in all the wrong places.

Although.. the Focus crashes very well as compared to the Cobalt.. so the places Ford pays close attention to are very important. IF Bill Ford drove a Focus to work, I bet there would be changes to fix some of these minor problems.