Ford in real trouble

[_pH_]

Is it just european/US manufacturers who are in trouble? How are the far eastern manufacturers doing by comparison?

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

Is it just european/US manufacturers who are in trouble? How are the far eastern manufacturers doing by comparison?

Toyota have recently reduced working hours and laid off temporary workers at Burnaston....

http://www.birminghampost.net/birmi...-down-production-at-burnaston-65233-21500844/

 

[Kanda]

Toyota have recently reduced working hours and laid off temporary workers at Burnaston....

http://www.birminghampost.net/birmi...-down-production-at-burnaston-65233-21500844/

But that's still UK sales.

I wonder what if any reductions in sales far east manufacturers have had actually in the far east...

 

[Detroit City]

Next year could actually mean the end. That is serious s**t.

thats what happens when you have decades of mismanagement, products that can't compete and crazy union contracts

 

[agricola]

thats what happens when you have decades of mismanagement, products that can't compete and crazy union contracts

Indeed. Its like the British motor industry all over again.

 

[G. Fieendish]

It should be Ford US in real trouble...it's European arm is actually in better health but the parent company is knackered due to some stupid decisions. Why build a mid sized car in Mexico when the Mondeo already exists in Europe?

That Dodge deal is a joke...why did Dodge or Chrysler think European's would want their shitty made, petrol guzzling boxes?

According to rumour, Ford almost went bankrupt in the mid 1990's, & it was only due to Ford Europe, & the profit generated therein, that Ford avoided said fate...

 

[Giles]

Then you have to add in the hugemungous health insurance costs they have to pay on their gazzilion employees, and the pension fund...

The pensions liability is a thing at affects a lot of big companies that used to be HUGE in terms of employee numbers and are now not doing so well.

I read somewhere that these costs add around US$1500 - 2000 to each car they now sell!

If GM goes bankrupt, and some new company or consortium then buy the assets (the factories and rights to produce the cars), what will happen to the pensions and health care liabilities? Will the pensioners lose out?

Giles..

 

[kyser_soze]

We're talking about North America here Giles, what do you reckon? State support or 'work until you drop to replace your pension'?

According to rumour, Ford almost went bankrupt in the mid 1990's, & it was only due to Ford Europe, & the profit generated therein, that Ford avoided said fate...

Not rumour: this was when Jack Nasser was running Ford, before the family stepped up and took control again.

 

[DarthSydodyas]

We're not really told too much about what redundancies are going to happen but we still have a significant number of temps that are sitting on a hot plate. Recent days have shown management moves to suggest an inevitable culling.

Internal company news suggests the pension fund is over a billion and some in debt, regardless of the sums recently pumped into it.

We have been building the engines at a worrying rate... because quite frankly none of us know where the hell these are going. What may be likely is they are stock piling for things will pick up, negating the need for any immediate overtime. Perhaps.