Industry Insider: 12/01/06
Temporary workers will help build the Lincoln Town Car since so many Ford employees took buyouts this week
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With nearly half of its workforce accepting buyouts, Ford is recruiting temporary workers to help build cars at its Wixom, Mich., assembly, something it is likely to have to do at its other plants as well.
Ford announced this week that 38,000 hourly workers, or 46 percent of its U.S. hourly workforce, had accepted early retirement or buyouts of $35,000-$140,000 by the Nov. 27 deadline...
That puts Ford ahead of its goal of cutting 30,000 hours jobs by the end of 2008.
Meantime, Ford is taking applications for temporary work at its suburban Detroit plant that produces the Lincoln Town Car. (It once built the now-defunct Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird, which were curtailed due to poor sales.)
Temporary workers will receive no benefits nor will they accrue union seniority. They will receive the starting pay required under Ford's UAW contract of $16 per hour.
A Michigan auto analyst was quoted by a Detroit-area newspaper saying what Ford is doing at its Wixom, Mich., plant, likely will be done at its other plants as well. Temporary workers will be required to keep Ford's plants running in light of the huge acceptance of worker buyouts.
It causes one to wonder. For years, automakers have preached that extensive training of experienced workers results in vehicle quality. How can Ford sustain quality when its vehicles are built by temp workers who are not compensated as well as the permanent employees they work alongside of and they have no prospect for a future job or job security?
âMichelle Krebs
Meantime, Ford is taking applications for temporary work at its suburban Detroit plant that produces the Lincoln Town Car. (It once built the now-defunct Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird, which were curtailed due to poor sales.)
Temporary workers will receive no benefits nor will they accrue union seniority. They will receive the starting pay required under Ford's UAW contract of $16 per hour.
A Michigan auto analyst was quoted by a Detroit-area newspaper saying what Ford is doing at its Wixom, Mich., plant, likely will be done at its other plants as well. Temporary workers will be required to keep Ford's plants running in light of the huge acceptance of worker buyouts.
It causes one to wonder. For years, automakers have preached that extensive training of experienced workers results in vehicle quality. How can Ford sustain quality when its vehicles are built by temp workers who are not compensated as well as the permanent employees they work alongside of and they have no prospect for a future job or job security?
âMichelle Krebs
ateixeira says:
09:42 AM, 12/ 1/06
I hope they're not put in positions that require much skill. Good luck. I'm sure glad it's not on my shopping list.
tulsa4runner says:
10:23 AM, 12/ 1/06
I wonder how many workers who take the buyout will turnaround and apply for temp jobs. I bet it ends up being quite a few.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
11:33 AM, 12/ 1/06
Welcome to the third world USA auto economy. Sad. Quality on this model will take a dive, but may get better again (depends on how the temp workers are treated - generally, temp workers don't fare that well).
comp386 says:
04:21 PM, 12/ 1/06
Why would temps be of any less quality? Did anyone not buy Civics and Corolla's when their US plants first opened. In fact I think they'll do much better than the union employees. They'll have more of an incentive to do well. If they don't they can be let go without any more thought. After Northwest Airlines went to temporary workers there was little decrease in flight quality.
billt9 says:
12:14 AM, 12/ 2/06
I'm sure the temp workers will be the people who took the buyouts. It's not possible for an untrained temp to have the motivation and skill to build every single vehicle right.
You're talking about opening new plants for the Civic and Corolla... automakers spend time to train their employees, building learner cars before the plant starts cranking out sellable cars. I don't know if that kinda of line-stopping training is possible, or worth the investment on temps.
But I do agree the lack of job security will cause the employees to build better cars.
mirth says:
02:08 PM, 12/ 2/06
They'll still be making more than the people working in the auto suppliers' factories. Or did you think everyone in American manufacturing made $25/hour?
hondacura4 says:
07:21 PM, 12/ 2/06
Honda and Toyota both use temporary agencies!
estreka says:
01:57 PM, 12/ 3/06
In any case, this'll definately be a learning experience for Ford. Also, keep in mind that there are still union workers there. Only half took buyouts. It's not a complete turnover. I do think there will be quality issues, but I don't think it's going to be that significant.
Whether it affects consumer purchasing, I really don't know. I read an editorial in a certain magazine about a guy who drives a Town Car and he seemed pretty adamant about sticking with his "tried and true" company.