Take a look at Ford’s impressive stock chart:
Fortunately, Ford has a plan. In an effort to repair its struggling bottom line, Detroit-based automotive manufacturer, Ford, has considered following GM’s lead, in offering across-the-board buyouts to its employees, in an effort to shed about 25% of its workforce. Industry analysts have been clamoring for this sort of move, since the “targeted” buyouts have only accomplished a reduction of abotu 7% in Ford’s workforce. But the analysts are not alone. It appears that the general rank-and-file employees, support this offering.
“[B]lue-collar workers at the automaker say they’re eager for what they expect to be a buyout wave.
“A lot of people would take it,” said Doug Pulaczewski, 31, a Ford employee since 1999 who builds climate control systems at the Sheldon Road Plant in Plymouth…
And why shouldn’t they be? Even at conservative growth rates, and a modest annual contribution, a meager $50,000 buyout has a future-value of about $200,000 over 20 years.
…Workers have written to the Free Press from Ford plants around the country, asking when buyouts might be offered to them and questioning why the process was taking so long.
Workers who are close to retirement and young workers who have time to find new careers…are “very eager” to leave.
Look, if I were on that sinking ship, I’d be begging for a lifeboat, too. Whatever buyout is offered will go a long way to alleviate the stress under which most of these union workers live, every day – never knowing when they might lose their job, their pensions, their health-care, their livelihood. The money could be put towards retirement, to augment whatever contributions one earns at a new job, or it could be spent paying down the mortgage, in order to make the debt service bearable, despite a greatly reduced income. I’d probably shoot for a combination.
Who stands in the way of giving the UAW members what they want?
If you guessed: “Ford Motor Company,” or “Evil Capitalists” or some such gobbledygook, you’re mistaken. I’ll be back later with the answer.
