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St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com  |
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 Ford Announces Major Restructuring; St. Louis Hazelwood Plant May Close
By Betty Magrath, SLFP.com In an statement, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Ford, Jr. provided an overview of the action. "Our revitalization plan is based on executing the fundamentals of our business to build great products. What we are outlining today is a comprehensive plan that build for the future. It's going to take everyone in the extended Ford family - employees, suppliers and dealers - working together, over time, to make it work," stated Ford. Manufacturing plans over the next several years include:
The manufacturing plans came as a surprise to Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr. At a press conference, the Mayor stated that he was dismayed by the announcement. "I received a call from Ford this morning indicating that we were on the list to be closed. I was dismayed," he said."This will affect some 14,000 jobs in the St. Louis area. We feel for the employees that work directly in the Hazelwood Assembly Plant and the suppliers for that plant," commented the Mayor. "We have a quality product and the work force here is second to none. I have announced this morning that we are in the process of creating a task force so that we will be able to do everything possible to keep the plant open." He stated that the task force would also try to market the facility or find some other alternative source. "The news initially this morning was very bad. At the same time, I realize that we are not losing any shifts immediately. We have a window of opportunity because they may not close the plant until mid-decade. That may be as late as 2004 or 2005," the Mayor commented. "I believe that if we put together a public/private partnership, we can encourage Ford to keep this plant open. It's a valuable resource for Ford Motor Company and it's a valuable resource for Hazelwood and the St. Louis Region as well." The Mayor noted that the Hazelwood Plant provides some $3 million a year in revenue to the City of Hazelwood and that the closing would dramatically impact the revenue of the Hazelwood School District. "We have been negotiating with Ford for the last several months looking at financial incentive packages that would allow them to expand the facilities. They have invested some $80 million in this plant in the last several months. They have also increased the work force. So we were surprised," concluded the Mayor. The Assembly Plant employs nearly 2,400 hourly workers. Kathy Anthony, who has worked the day shift for the past seven year, stopped by the plant Friday afternoon to pick up her pay check. In an interview, she stated that she was shocked that Ford planned to close the facility. "I had no idea. With the economy and everything, they had talked about cutting back to one shift." Anthony and her husband are building a new house in St. Peters. "It's quite devastating. We make good money out here. I know whatever I find, I won't make as much." Anthony, who has three children, stated that she was thinking about going back to school. The actions announced today include:
Manufacturing plans over the next several years include: 1) Closing five plants: Edison Assembly, Ontario Truck Plant, St. Louis Assembly, Cleveland Aluminum Casting and Vulcan Forge; 2) No new products have been identified for two plants: Ohio Assembly and Cuautitlan Assembly, 3) Pursuing the sale of Woodhaven Forging Plant, 4) Major downsizing and shift reductions at 11 plants; and 5) Line speed reductions and changes to operating patterns at nine plants. "In order to remain competitive and profitable, we must make some hard decisions to align capacity with our anticipated sales," said Scheele. "At the same time, the company is continuing its commitment to North American manufacturing operations with investments of about $20 billion over the next five years in new product programs and spending to add flexibility and increase our ability to respond quickly to changes in market demand." "We are confident we can achieve these goals through the efforts of our dedicated employee team," Bill Ford noted. "We know we have immediate challenges to face. It will be difficult, and in some cases, painful to turn things around. But we will turn things around."   The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
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