Comments on: Ford “Temporarily” Idles Nine Plants

By: Geotpf

Geotpf — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:31:46 +0000

As for whether or not these folks are in the “jobs bank”, my understanding is when layoffs occur, the employees go on government unemployment benefits first, and only after that runs out, do they go into the “jobs bank”. This type of temporary layoffs usually don’t last long enough for the employees to run out of unemployment benefits, assuming they are truely temporary.

So, yes, they will be paid not to work, but the government is paying them, not Ford (or the government via a bailout paid to Ford, natch).

By: Droid800

Droid800 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:59:45 +0000

@benders

Nope. NCAP standards are actually more stringent now than NHTSA’s, and this car was engineered from the very start to be able to be sold worldwide so that Ford didn’t have to make costly changes for different markets.

By: benders

benders — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:32:24 +0000

Droid: I believe the front end of the Fiesta (and most if not all the Euro Fords) has to be reworked structurally to meet the tougher US frontal crash test standards. Could be wrong though.

More evidence Ford is the most observant of the Detroit automakers and is (GASP!) cutting production to adjust to demand levels.

By: Droid800

Droid800 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:25:24 +0000

You can try and spin this as a negative, but really, this is Ford being smart and not flooding its dealers with models that aren’t selling quickly. Its better that they do this instead of over-producing and having thousands and thousands of extra units just sitting on dealer lots like Chrysler and GM.

@Your old pal Bob :
They won’t be americanized. Everything in the Euro Fiesta is coming here, from the seats to the tail pipe. They’re not screwing them up like they have done so often in the past.

By: dwford

dwford — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:24:32 +0000

Ford is at least small enough with 4 brands (worldwide! not counting Mazda) to turn the ship quickly. GM with at least 12 brands worldwide is only able to drop a new car here and there for the brands. New Malibu – drip, new Aura, Astra, Sky – drip drip drip, new LaCrosse – drip. While the rest of each brand’s lineup rots. GM still hasn’t integrated its operation into a global unit. There are still world cars that are rebadged for every market except the US and the US cars, which are similar but not the same.

By: jcp2

jcp2 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:56:31 +0000

CommanderFish:

Nothing is selling well, big or small, Ford or Honda, Focus or Civic. Also, fake side vents are not a feature on the 2009 models, so yes, they were rubbed out (off). Everybody is holding their breath until first quarter 2009.

By: Your old pal Bob

Your old pal Bob — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:53:45 +0000

This looks to me like Mullaly et cie anticipating the public’s wait and see attitude. I’d like to wait and see what the Euro Fords end up looking like after they’re Americanized. Softer suspensions, wider seats, and no Diesel options pull pages from the failure playbook. If they can they spend a little time surprising us, I boldly predict that these idled plants will once again be very busy.

That’s right, bold moves! (I crack myself up.)

- Your old pal Bob

By: lprocter1982

lprocter1982 — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:24:07 +0000

I don’t know about the rest of the plants, but I can pretty much guarantee that St. Thomas will be un-idled sometime in the near future. They make the panther cars there, and while there’s a small (if non-existant) retail market, cops and cabbies still need cars. Sure, ST, might only be one shift, but it’s better than nothing.

By: rcguy

rcguy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:58:17 +0000

If congress believes this bailout is about saving jobs then there’s gonna be a rude awakening when GM gets the deal done and before the ink is dry on the check the axe starts falling.

There’s going to be not just “temporary” cutbacks but a ton of plant closures.

Ford has more class than GM, the cut backs are being anounced already.

By: CommanderFish

CommanderFish — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:53:25 +0000

Wait a second…

They make the Focus at the Wayne plant. I thought that was the one Ford model that was selling recently?

Did the polish rub off on the fake side vents already?

By: RobertSD

RobertSD — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:50:27 +0000

But it is temporary. Eventually, the plants start operating again. There is still demand, just not enough to support full-steam-ahead mode. For years, Ford just produced and dumped. Now that they do things the right way, you still aren’t happy…

Even if Ford is paying its workers to sit on their butts, at least they aren’t paying for the materials to build the cars. They aren’t paying dealers to take them. And they won’t have to pay consumers more to take them. The labor equation here is not the worst part. Mulally has finally figured that out.

I really don’t see how this “temporarily” relates to your GM “temporarily.” GM’s is all about failing to manage themselves well. Ford’s is about proper management of their supply-chain in a market that is down 30% over the last two months. 35% decline over last year? Completely inline.

By: rochskier

rochskier — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:32:36 +0000

Sure it’s “temporary”.

Honestly, I see some of these plants staying idle on an extended basis. I can’t envision a realistic scenario where demand for new automobiles returns to or surpasses prior peaks. I think that demand was a bubble, similar to and influenced by the credit and housing bubbles.

By: hltguy

hltguy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:46:52 +0000

“Temporaily idling plants” there is that “temporary” word again. In the letter TTAC just posted from GM to dealers, it stated GM is seeking “temprorary” help from the federal government. Things are so bad, everything is temporary now, except apparently the management of the companies.

By: Zarba

Zarba — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:26:47 +0000

Hey, at least they are idling the plants instead of piling up cars like Chrysler did.

Mullaly seems to be willing to drop the hammer when he needs to. Now if he can only figure out how to get folks in the front doors of the dealers, he may be on to something…