Posted on 09/15/2006 5:16:26 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
Cuts include 14,000 white collar jobs, fourth-quarter dividend; North American operations likely not profitable before 2009; market share expected to be around 15 percent
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. said today it will cut its operating costs by $5 billion and cut its salaried work force by one-third, or about 14,000 positions, as it speeds up its Way Forward restructuring plan.
Ford also said it will not pay a stock dividend for the fourth quarter, and will sell or close all former Visteon plants by the end of 2008 and close other plants.
The automaker now acknowledges that it won't return its North American automotive unit to profitability by the end of 2008 as previously planned. Because of further expected market share declines, Ford now says that full-year profitability for the unit is not expected before 2009.
That unit lost $1.6 billion before taxes in 2005. It lost another $1.3 billion before taxes and one-time charges through the first half of this year.
Market share for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands will continue to fall, Ford said today. The combined market share of the three brands already has dropped by 1.1 percentage points through August, to 16.8 percent of the U.S. market.
Ford said today that U.S. market share of those brands will be in the low 16 percent range by the end of this year. Ford expects share to further fall to the 14 to 15 percent range in the future.
Ford will idle its Norfolk, Va., assembly plant in 2007, a year earlier than planned. That plant builds F-150 pickups.
A shift reduction is now planned for the Norfolk plant and the St. Paul, Minn., plant that builds the Ford Ranger pickup.
(Excerpt) Read more at autonews.com ...
......It appears you will support any form of government as long as it is good for corporate stockholders.....
That trick won't work. There is a difference between corporations that follow the law and those that succomb to corruption enabled by government.
Ken Lay is in jail. Clinton is still free. Crime does pay.
I don't believe Loral broke any laws. The transfer was legal under the mechanizations of the Clinton White House.
If you are building your case on a foundation of legality rather than the welfare of the nation, you are lost.
Remember Tom Daschle's wife, a lobbist for Boeing. With little Tom's assistance, Boeing was going to lease new tankers to the Air Force instead of an outright purchase of the aircraft as the Air Force wanted. Now that was a plumb for Boeing stockholders.
I believe the lease arrangement was going to cost the Air Force,(U.S. taxpayer) billions of dollars more, than would have a purchase of the craft.
You were in support of the scheme because it was good for the stockholders and legal.
Simply because a corporation operates within a legal framework doesn't mean it isn't harming the United States by its conduct.
Uhhh, Ken Lay is dead. Never went to jail.
I too, have a couple of Fords: a 1990 Eddie Bauer, full size 4X4 Bronco with a 5.7L V8 engine and a 2001 F150 SVT Lightning with a 425 hp, supercharged 5.4 L V8, both have been trouble free.
All I've replaced on Bronco was a window solenoid in the passenger door, a rear folding door latch, valve cover gaskets, a main belt idler pulley, I replaced the original shocks with Bilstein shocks and one battery, not bad for 16 years of wear and tear. The Lightning hasn't had any warranty work done and they both run great!
~~~ and tires. >:-}
Democrats and Liberals often claim that programs that support non-american workers, such as outsourcing, are unamerican and steal jobs from Americans.
However, they overlook some important facts that show how benificial these programs are to both American consumers and workers.
First, I would like to point out that 96% of clothing in America is imported. Why would this be? Surely, if Americans were unhappy about this, more clothing would be made in America. The truth is, American consumers really don't mind that clothing is imported, because other countries can produce and sell clothes at a lower price. This means we save money!(See Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel)
Second, It is cheaper for companies to outsource because they can hire more employees for less money. This means that the companies can continue to grow, and can hire more Americans as well as non-Americans.
Everybody benefits, and as an American and a true patriot, I will support any company that is helping our economy to become more prosperous.
You mean their bonds? Their stock has actually done pretty well in the past couple months (despite Friday's fall).
If these things change on their own, businesses will stay and more will come. If they don't, businesses will leave, forcing them to change, at which point some might consider returning.
This backround was the basis for my comment.
The loss of jobs in the states only to be outsourced outside of the country is a major symptom of this problem. Only by escaping such restrictive and profit-prohibitve legislation can a corporation hope to function properly. Ford hasn't helped itself by destroying itself via incompetence. OTOH, the government has had a big hand in bringing Ford to it's knees in the first place. OHSA, WC, HC, AWDA and other restrictions forced upon companies stifle their ability to perform and grow traumatically. It just so happens that America is strong enough to survive under such restrictions and flourish economically. That's a testament to the people, certainly not the government.
And I think just about everyone on this board wants GM and Ford to survive and continue to manufacture in the U.S. of A.
Me too, but it's going to take more than the Mustang, F-150, and a couple of other models to do so.
There are several bland Ford models out there that simply can't sell. My Escape is a good example - decent car, with respectable power, but hampered by a lack of features, no manual transmission available with the V-6, and a stupid 100 mph top speed governor.
Ford needs to make a better Honda than Honda, at a better price. But they can't because the overhead costs related to decades of union wages and benefits are much, much higher than those of Honda. Plus, they can't seem to get a car out with all the bells and whistles already included.
Looks as though the money they gave the homosexual community isn't making up for lost sales.
This is just one of the reasons I will never buy a Ford product again.
I have thought for some time now the foreign made autos were made better than American.
The auto industry is paying their workers upward of $100.000 a year and, then they try selling their product to a guy making $20.000 a yr.
Manufacturing cars is only high tech for those engineers and managers designing the assembly lines...I've seen these guys/gals assemblying cars with their i-pods in their ears and shooting the breeze with their buddies.
As far as the salaries...I guess you're right the $100,000 a year is more like $87,000 a year now that they've had to cut back on overtime (Detroit news.)
"And I think just about everyone on this board wants GM and Ford to survive and continue to manufacture in the U.S. of A."
I'll have to disagree with you on that one. I've seen posts by more than a few here who would love to see Ford and GM close down US operations and open in China.
Oh, there are some Al Dunlap wannabees here I'm sure, but most of those expressing support for the cuts just want to see Ford/GM turned around. I still don't get the idea of a job bank.
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