This news is enough to knock your wind out:
Ford Motor Co., the nation’s second-largest automaker, said Monday that it will cut 25,000 to 30,000 jobs and idle 14 facilities by 2012 as part of a restructuring designed to reverse billion-dollar losses in North America.
more below…
Update [2006-1-23 11:35:0 by Man Eegee]:Some details from Bloomberg:
The closings will include assembly plants in Atlanta, St. Louis and Wixom, Michigan, and two unidentified plants by 2008, the company said in a statement today on PR Newswire. [snip]
Ford had 122,877 employees in its North American auto operations at the end of 2004, including 35,000 salaried employees. Detroit-based GM, Ford’s bigger U.S. rival, had 173,000 U.S. employees in North America at the end of September 2005, down from 181,000 at the end of 2004. GM had 106,000 hourly and 36,000 salaried U.S. employees at the end of September.
I was listening to NPR this morning on the drive to work, and they mentioned that the job cuts will be in addition to previously announced layoffs for their salaried work force. The round will also be coupled with the closure of several of its factories. That has real consequences in areas that have long relied on the job market these facilities provide.
The Bush Economic Experiment is blowing up in the face of hard workers across this country. I know plenty of middle class workers that vote for Republicans because they feel its in their best financial interest. Isn’t it far past the time when everyone say together in a loud voice, “Where’s the beef?”
The Bubble Presidency will continue as long as its horrific policies are met with soft murmurs of outrage or worse, silence, instead of calls for real accountability by Congress and the people who elected them.
While tens of thousands of Ford workers wait to hear of the fate of their careers, George continues to smirk. It’s as if he is driving us all down a rocky 4×4 trail in a Mustang without a spare tire. Wanna bet the gas tank is full? He has alot more planned for his passengers.
Buckle up.
