Explorer to chicago 1200 jobs

[boeslap]

Ford to add 1,200 jobs in Chicago
Explorer sport utility vehicle will be assembled in plant

updated 4:42 p.m. CT, Mon., Jan. 25, 2010

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. will add 1,200 jobs at its Chicago assembly plant later this year to build the new Explorer sport utility vehicle, a person briefed on the matter said Monday.

The company and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn are scheduled to make the announcement on Tuesday at the factory, but Quinn told reporters in Chicago Monday that 1,200 new jobs were coming to Illinois.

"Tomorrow, in one day, we're going to get 1,200 new jobs for Illinois," Quinn said at a breakfast event that is unrelated to the Ford announcement.
The person briefed on the
announcement said some of the workers will be from Ford's pool of employees laid
off at other factories. The person did not want to be identified because the
announcement has not been made.

The new Explorer will be built on
the same frame as the Taurus sedan, which is built at the Chicago plant.

Ford has long had plans to base
the once-popular Explorer on a car rather than truck frame. The company says the
new one will have SUV-like towing and hauling capacity, but will be more
maneuverable and fuel efficient than its predecessor.

Ford has sold more than 6.5
million Explorers since the SUV went on sale in 1990 as a 1991 model. But the
segment has been suffering due to high gasoline prices. Ford sold only 52,190 of
the truck-based Explorers last year, down 34 percent from 2008.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35066480/ns/business-local_business/

[sonofberl]

About 260 workers laid off from Ford Motor Co.’s Louisville Assembly Plant will have first dibs on 1,200 jobs making the next generation of the Explorer at the Chicago Assembly Plant.

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Ford announced Tuesday that the new Explorer will be built in Chicago once production ends in Louisville later this year.

The move is in line with the coming $500 million renovation of the Louisville Assembly Plant to manufacture Escape and Kuga crossovers early next year.

But laid-off workers who don’t move to Chicago will lose their jobs and won’t be eligible for call back once the retooled Louisville Assembly resumes production.

“You get one offer,” company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said.

Major changes to the labor contract with the United Auto Workers in recent years will govern the transfer of 600 laid off Ford workers nationwide, including those on standby in Louisville.Under previous labor contracts, Ford workers were able to decline a transfer to a plant elsewhere and still retain rights to join the company at a later date, staying in a pool informally known as the “Jobs Bank.”

As a condition of federal aid to General Motors and Chrysler, the United Auto Workers trimmed the Job Banks benefit from its labor contracts last year as part of an effort to match Detroit Three automakers’ labor costs with those of non-union automakers like Toyota.

Once all the laid-off Ford workers decide whether to take a Chicago job, the new contract allows Ford to bring on new autoworkers who will earn $14 per hour, or about half the current rate, company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said.

Rumors that laid off workers here would be moved to Chicago, and the prospect of working alongside newcomers earning half his rate of pay is why Gustavo Piaggio, a laid off line worker at Louisville, said he took a buyout to leave the company last Friday.

“How can I look into my son’s eyes and say that Ford would be a place worth working at with all the things that have been taken away and the two tier wage that has been accepted,” said Piaggio, a father of two who transferred to Louisville when its Atlanta Assembly Plant closed in 2005.
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“Really, I realized I don’t want to be a part of a business that seems to be out to get you,” Piaggio, 31, said Friday.

Unlike the truck-based Explorers produced at Louisville Assembly, the new version will be manufactured on a smoother-riding car platform.

Ford is releasing no photos and few details on the new Explorer, which will go into production in the fourth quarter of this year, company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said.

Ford Explorer sales peaked at more than 445,000 in 2000, and sales averaged 412,000 annually from 1995 through 2003, Ford senior sales analyst George Pipas said Tuesday.

But the Explorer V-6 engine’s 14 miles per gallon in city driving, and 19 miles per gallon on the highway damaged its popularity against the more fuel-efficient crossovers like the Escape and Edge.

Explorer sales have plummeted in recent years to well below 100,000 sold annually. The customers who were left, analysts say, were those attracted to its towing capacity of more than 7,000 pounds.

The new Explorer will deliver at least 25 percent better fuel economy than the current , Ford said in the announcement. No details on the towing capacity of the new Explorer were available Tuesday.

“The new Explorer will redefine the SUV for the modern era — retaining the capability customers want while delivering superb fuel efficiency….” Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the America’s, said a prepared statement Tuesday.

Ford on Tuesday reconfirmed its plans for Louisville Assembly to produce new vehicles starting in 2011.

Reporter Jere Downs can be reached at [phone].
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[ScottR@KTP]

Taking the buyout sounds like a good idea now if you don't wanna move. One offer, and you no longer work for them anyway if you decline. Sad, but at least you get an offer to work now vs. waiting for 2011 at LAP.
Good luck to all those on ILO.

[tonyp]

So after the plant shuts down in Nov. are we going to have to transfer?

[Calvin@KTP]

Just my opinion but I think there is a possibility that Ford will ILO all LAP workers and survey them for jobs at Chicago to try to force some to separate from the company. That way Ford can hire more of the 14 dollar per hour workers and avoid paying SUB and TAP benefits during LAP retool. I would not have believed this a year ago but after what was done to the workers on ILO now, I wouldn't rule anything out.

There could be some tough choices ahead for some.

[ScottR@KTP]

Think you are correct Cal...sad, but very possible. They already screwed the people at LAP with the 'secret handshake and verbal agreement to lay NO ONE off' while putting 260 out on the street to face some tough upcoming decisions.

[TonyV]

Mr. Positive, I'm proud of you for thinking outside of your comfort zone. That posibility was one of the factors used in my decision to come to KTP. I still feel there is a chance of that happening.

[hotcarl]

I thought that you had one strike. If you said no to the opportunity, they then took your money and benefits away but you still had recall rights to your home plant up to your years of senority.

[TonyV]

You are correct hotcarl. But talk to the old timers from the '70s and '80s and see how many were left to the wayside. Many were not recalled for absenteeism, medicals, or whatever reason. I am outspoken. I choose not to leave my rear in the wind.

[lucero]

my wife and I are already planning for the move, I dont mind going up for a couple of years, then coming back. Just covering my keester i guess.

[Calvin@KTP]

That is a good move lucero. Always choose the work. Don't take chances.

[ScottR@KTP]

Couldn't agree more...it would be a no-brainer for me if I was on ILO without a good paying job right now. Best of luck Lucero!