Ford, UAW reach local contract agreement at Kentucky Truck plant
The union said last week said that nearly 9,000 workers at the massive plant in Louisville would walk picket lines starting Friday if the contract dispute was not resolved.
The union said last week said that nearly 9,000 workers at the massive plant in Louisville would walk picket lines starting Friday if the contract dispute was not resolved.
The United Auto Workers said nearly 9,000 workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant will strike Friday if the local contract dispute is not resolved.
Additional labor costs from the agreement will total $8.8 billion by the end of the contract, translating to about $900 per vehicle by 2028, Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in a company release.
The United Auto Workers union overwhelmingly ratified new contracts with Ford and Stellantis, that along with a similar deal with General Motors will raise pay across the industry, force automakers to absorb higher costs and help reshape the auto business.
The apparently widening labor rift indicates that Ford and the UAW may be in for a lengthy strike that could cost the company and workers billions of dollars.
In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain called the move “a shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs” at a plant that’s not open yet.
The company confirmed Tuesday that it was starting to notify several hundred engineers and other salaried employees that their jobs are being eliminated. The firings come after around 200 Ford contract employees were let go last week.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company is reversing a decision to scrub AM after speaking with government policy leaders who are concerned about keeping emergency alerts.
Ford CEO Jim Farley says Ford will be competing differently, going for tailored ownership experiences rather than “jockeying for slivers of market share.”
Ford Motor Co.’s electric vehicle business has lost $3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year as the company invests heavily in the new technology. Those figures were released Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way of reporting financial results.
Gabby Bruno, director of economic development for Ford, said there was “no lack of competition for this project.” She said Michigan “competed against numerous states and countries” to secure the investment.
The case involved what the plaintiffs’ lawyers called dangerously defective roofs on Ford pickup trucks. Lawyers for the plaintiffs had submitted evidence of nearly 80 rollover wrecks that involved truck roofs being crushed that injured or killed motorists.
Ford would not comment on a report that it could lay off as many as 8,000 employees to cut expenses to finance its ambitious EV goals. It called the report by Bloomberg News speculation.
Ford CEO Jim Farley predicted big cost reductions are coming with new battery chemistries that use fewer expensive and scarce precious metals such as nickel and cobalt. Plus, EVs will take less time and labor to build, saving more money, he said.
Ford plans a major restructuring with two distinct but strategically interdependent auto businesses–Ford Blue focusing on traditional combustion engines and Ford Model e, which will develop electric vehicles.
Researchers say charging times for electric vehicles could eventually be on par with filling up a car at a gas station.
When Ford revealed plans to spend more than $11 billion on the fledgling electric vehicle sector, the automaker chose two states where Republican leaders have criticized the push for green energy and defended fossil fuels.
The company said 70,000 customers have put down $100 deposits to reserve an electric F-150 in the week since it was unveiled. Ford’s F-Series pickup is the top-selling vehicle in the U.S.
Ford is taking a significant risk by sinking so much capital into an electric version of a pickup that commands a huge and loyal following. In a typical year, Ford sells about 900,000 F-series trucks. It has been America’s top-selling vehicle for nearly four decades.
The plants would reopen in early or mid-April, restoring the largest source of cash for automakers that generally book revenue when they ship vehicles to dealerships.