Ford's cutting 15,000 jobs, five plants and four cars from its lineup.
January 11, 2002 9:12 AM   Subscribe

Ford's cutting 15,000 jobs, five plants and four cars from its lineup. Despite a record year in the auto industry, Ford is losing money and market share, leading to a massive restructuring plan to take effect within the next months. To show he's serious, Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said the company would turn a profit or he wouldn't get paid.
posted by me3dia (16 comments total)
 
Blame it on Fast Eddie :)
posted by riffola at 9:25 AM on January 11, 2002


Here's the offcial Ford press release...

"A product-led revitalization program which will lead to the introduction of 20 new or freshened products in the U.S. annually between now and mid-decade. "

Does a "freshened product" have anything to do with that new car smell?
posted by tpl1212 at 9:30 AM on January 11, 2002


Does a "freshened product" have anything to do with that new car smell?

I don't know, but it apparently means no Lincoln Continentals. What are the old folks gonna drive?
posted by me3dia at 9:35 AM on January 11, 2002


Wow...so now the CEO will have to be sure and layoff more people just before they release their numbers so what is left of his accounting staff can make what is left of Ford look like it made a profit.


I read this and think "Wow...you might not get paid Jr. but there are now 15,000 people who definately won't. " At Ford quality is job...er ...ah ...we laid off the guy who had that job ...
posted by srboisvert at 9:36 AM on January 11, 2002


In case you don't follow Formula 1, Eddie Irvine drives for Jaguar (which is owned by Ford), and gets paid about £6.3m for it, making him the second highest paid employee at Ford.
posted by riffola at 9:38 AM on January 11, 2002


> it apparently means no Lincoln Continentals. What are
> the old folks gonna drive?

Old folks drive the car they wanted back when they were young and broke. Which means that, when the time comes, that 427 Cobra with the wheelchair lift that you see parked outside the old gorks' storage facility will be mine.
posted by jfuller at 9:58 AM on January 11, 2002


About time they killed the Continental. And the Cougar... overweight, underpowered POS with bad seats. Looked cool, though.
posted by jammer at 11:16 AM on January 11, 2002


What are the old folks gonna drive?

I think that they will be driving Snoop DeVilles.
posted by donkeymon at 11:24 AM on January 11, 2002


Actually, Ford eliminated 35,000 jobs worldwide. And they won't be matching 401(k) contributions for employees. But hey, at least Ford stock was up today!
posted by mzanatta at 11:42 AM on January 11, 2002


I wonder how many of those employees were union members? This is just another step in the systematic dismantling of unions since NAFTA.

Who wants to bet that within a year or two Ford opens new plants in Mexico or Central America (cheaper labor and Ford can pollute a hell of a lot more)?
posted by panopticon at 11:50 AM on January 11, 2002


". .. just another step in the systematic dismantling of unions since NAFTA."

you say that as if it were a bad thing
posted by yesster at 12:14 PM on January 11, 2002


sigh. Yesster, why is it when people even mention unions there's inevitably one of those guys that quips, "yeah! unions are stinky!" I wasn't trying to get into one of those conversations...

Ford is an American company, which brands itself as "American", a company that uses terms like "America drives Ford" and "Ford Drives America" and "America's #1 Choice" - by American they mean USA... How "American" is it to lay off 15,000 US workers (union or not) blaming the economy, and then in a year set up new operations somewhere else? Although that seems to be the trend right now, I think it's, um, problematic, wimpy, abusive, exploitative. I mean, Boeing is getting a $22 billion Air Force contract and it fires thousands of its workers. These numbers are frightening, the impact of these layoffs is immeasurable, it's really a shame. Ford didn't announce that all their executives would take a 20% pay cut, did they? They're just sticking it to the little guy. (And perhaps if unions were more powerful these layoffs might not be so extreme...)
posted by panopticon at 1:13 PM on January 11, 2002


Jeez, you gotta hate it when those pesky lawsuits and recalls get in the way of profits.
posted by aacheson at 1:14 PM on January 11, 2002


Two thoughts about the current Mr. Ford's offer to recieve no pay or bonus, just stock options: on one hand he suffers just like the laid off rank and file; on the other hand, how nice that he is so wealthy that he can afford to go for a year without pay. I wonder if he will still get a fee as a board member.
posted by ilsa at 2:03 PM on January 11, 2002


I bet Mr. Ford also gets chaufferred everywhere, probably gets a private jet to shuttle him around, has huge dividends from his stock holdings, etc. What's a few million less? And only for a year?
posted by panopticon at 2:18 PM on January 11, 2002


panopticon, I've been told by a climate change activist that the Ford family member now taking over the company is actually interested in sustainability and green engineering. The question is, will the public be willing to buy this stuff? Or will going toward "green" instead of churning out SUVs put Ford out of business?
posted by sheauga at 7:32 PM on January 11, 2002


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