Ford's Restructuring Plan

[saber]

It appears that many of our members have good contacts at Ford and maybe we can get some insight into what is going to happen at Ford. Apparently, (see article below) they will be announcing a major restructuring on Monday, could this have an affect our future part availability?

Ford Set to Announce Significant Restructuring Plan
Friday January 20, 7:11 pm ET
Associated Press
Ford to Unveil Restructuring Plan That Will Include Closing Many Plants, Slashing Jobs

DETROIT (AP) -- In a survey released this week, Ford Motor Co. ranked last among major automakers in the use of its North American plant capacity. The company aims to change that with a restructuring plan to be announced Monday that likely will include closing U.S. plants, cutting jobs and changing the company's product lineup.
Already some are wondering if shutting 12 plants and laying off over 25,000 hourly workers, as The Detroit News and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, will be enough to reverse the automaker's billion-dollar losses in North America.
Ford spokesman Tom Hoyt refused to comment Friday on details of the plan, including the number of jobs that will be cut from Ford's North American work force of 122,877. Catherine Madden, an auto analyst at the consulting firm Global Insight Inc., said earlier this week the plants most at risk for closure because of the products they make, including sport utility vehicles, speciality products, limited production models and outdated sedans, in St. Louis; St. Paul; Atlanta; Wixom, Mich.; St. Thomas, Ontario; and Cuatitlan, Mexico." :eek Ford is in a very tough position with the amount of cash they have and the changes they need to make," Madden said.
Ford is under pressure to make a dramatic announcement after watching Wall Street's lukewarm response to General Motors Corp.'s restructuring plans in November. GM's shares fell after it announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs and close 12 facilities.....

 

[BlackICE]

I am guessing that most of the parts unique to the GT were sub-contracted and will be built and delivered per contract. Usually a certain percentage of extra parts will be build as spares. Since the GT doesn't have a repair history, Ford will make a guess as to how many of what type of spares to build.

I checked on the price of a piece of plastic to replace the sub-woofer and it was a whopping $1600 list! The dealer said he could order it and have it in less than 2 weeks. If that is an indication of spare parts pricing, it wouldn't be hard to total the car in a minor wreak.

BlackICE

 

[barondw]

First plant closings IMO will have little effect on us. The car has been built and closings won't take place for a while. Second, as with GM the proposed announcement does not go far enough to correct the basics problems at FoMoCo and GM. That is why GM's stock went down after they announced the closing, because not one faced the real issues.

Neither is cutting far enough and neither is addressing legacy costs and getting the union to start chipping in as is done in many if not most other companies that offer similar benefits.

Chapter 11 or whatever its called today is probably the only way for both to rid themselves of legacy costs and emerge in a competitive mode. Also they have to start making vehicles, particularly cars that the poublic wants and have durability.

Parts will be available for a while and then as the years go by they will be listed as discontinued. This is normal and not a major concern. It certainly doesn't stop a LS6 CHevelle for selling at over $ 1,000,000 at BJ. Also many parts of the GT are used on other Ford vehicles.

I went through this with a Merkur and found if you ordered the same part under a Mustang part number they were and are still available.

 

[LEMANSZ]

check today's L.A. Times on-line in the business section. There is a preview of Tomorrow's press confernece on this issue.

 

[dbk]

I'm sure you've heard the details, but I think the plan goes much farther than the GM announcement. Most of the GM stuff was smoke and mirrors making actions already slated to happen look like new ideas. I think, to say the least, the Ford announcements will catch a lot of people off guard in their severity. At least in relation to cuts vs. size compared to GM.

I do think closing plants and supply operations is a much larger necessity at Ford. You can't have the capacity for 4 million units and build 2.4 million cars. Though I completely agree much of it matters little when you still have to pay the people you're firing because of antiquated UAW contracts signed off on by boneheads and ratified by the lemmings.

What can I say? The myopic manufacturing culture of Detroit lives on.

p.s they announced a full-year profit of $2 billion. If they could just fricken figure out how to be competitve in N.A, even just a little bit in terms of labor and efficiency, the days ahead could be bright. I feel pretty confident looking at Mark Fields that they'll at least give it a pretty good go...

First plant closings IMO will have little effect on us. The car has been built and closings won't take place for a while. Second, as with GM the proposed announcement does not go far enough to correct the basics problems at FoMoCo and GM. That is why GM's stock went down after they announced the closing, because not one faced the real issues.

Neither is cutting far enough and neither is addressing legacy costs and getting the union to start chipping in as is done in many if not most other companies that offer similar benefits.

 

[427Aggie]

We will see really soon but my guess is that Wixom will be closed.. It makes sense if the GT ends the run of specialty cars...why keep a plant that really is losing a main part and isn't running at capacity to start with.

Remember the closings will be over the next few years.

Matt

 

[HJP]

According to Automotive News....

Ford to close 7 assembly plants, cut up to 30,000 jobs
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it would close assembly plants in St. Louis, Atlanta and Wixom, Mich., as part of a sweeping restructuring plan.

The automaker also is closing a transmission plant in Batavia, Ohio, and a casting plant in Windsor, Ontario. It also will close two additional assembly plants, which will be named later.

In total, Ford will close 14 manufacturing plants by 2012 -- seven of them vehicle assembly plants. The closings will cut Ford's assembly capacity by 1.2 million units, or 26 percent, by 2008, the automaker said.

The moves will cut North American jobs by 25,000 to 30,000 positions by 2012, the automaker said.

The plant closings and job cuts are part of the Way Forward plan, designed to help Ford stabilize its North American market share.

 

[dbk]

Market took the announcement much better than they took the GM announcement. Figured as much.

Good bye ye olde Wixom. Sad to see it go for the people of the area, but it was serving little purpose to the financial health of a much larger contingent of people.

 

[LEMANSZ]

except...that's the plant where they make our cars...what effect will it have on future cars to be built (will the wokrers be pissed building out the restg of the line?) will the prices rise or fall? hmmmmmm.?

 

[4ord GT]

except...that's the plant where they make our cars...what effect will it have on future cars to be built (will the wokrers be pissed building out the restg of the line?) will the prices rise or fall? hmmmmmm.?

Isn't this where they have the $14,000,000 paint booth? or am I confused.

 

[dbk]

Very, very little is done at Wixom. The vast majority of the work is done at Saleen Special Vehicle in Troy, MI. They deck the motor at wixom, and I think they put in some interior odds and ends. Almost the entire assembly and paint process takes place at Troy.

 

[LEMANSZ]

that's great news then why the meet in Wixom instaed of Troy

 

[dbk]

that's great news then why the meet in Wixom instaed of Troy

Kind of a misnomer. The whole gang will "meet" and "stay" at the Ritz in Dearborn, about a 1/4 mile from Ford WHQ. SSV in Troy is about 24 miles east, Wixom is about 25 miles west, so it makes a nice midpoint where everyone can be near freeways and maybe take the Rouge tour if they want between GT related stuff. Hines Drive is an excellent scenic drive very popular in the summer only a mile or two from WHQ as well. So while we're planning to hit the two facilities for touring, the actual hanging out will be more of a WHQ thing.

Just touring SSV is quite a process. I think it took us a good half hour, and there were 4 of us on a private tour, while the plant wasn't operating...

 

[LEMANSZ]

great...I haven't been home to Detroit for 40 years....