fordmomma

Exactly!! And don't forget about the new plant in China that Pedilla is soooooooo excited about. :angry:

I have a suggestion for them. FORGET ABOUT CHINA AMD MEXICO. KEEP THE AMERICAN PLANTS OPEN.

I say you keep looking until you find one that is American made. REALLY American made. Not just slapped with a blue oval that is supposed to mean American made. And who cares how many are exported to the foreign countries?? At least they were made in our country, by American employees. Take care of our countrymen first. Let China and Mexico come up with their own employment!

I thought they stated "idled and closed".

I thought I heard Pedilla say they are opening a new plant in China. WTF?!??!?!

Thank you. Guess I'll try and get the webcast on my computer.

Anyone know if any of the St. Louis tv stations will be broadcasting the announcement? I know the reporters are waiting outside the plant, but I want to see the actual announcement on tv. Anyone know?

Any St. Louis stations going to broadcast it?

Good luck everyone. Thoughts and prayers are with all whose plants are in jeopardy. I'm still trying to stay positve! Hoping we all get good news! God bless!

I for one will be glad when SLAP and all the other Ford plants close. We are destroying the planet. Savingtheplanet- YOU ARE A FREAKING IDIOT!! If you have such a problem with Ford polluting the precious Earth, why the hell are you employed by them? They are good enough to pay your bills, provide you with health insurance, support your life style, and you can't wait for them to close the plants? You are slime. Freaking hypocrite. Go find you dead tree and join it. I'll even supply you with a nice rope made from all natural materials to hang yourself.

If anyone hears of it being broadcast on television, please post it here. Channels, times, etc... I know the announcement in 2002 was broadcast here, but I haven't heard/seen anything say that tomorrow's announcement weill be on tv. I really want to see it firsthand, and not have to wait for my hubby to call me with the news.

This article about the SLAP plant lists reasons why SLAP may stay open, and reasons why it may be closed. I wouldn't give up hope just yet. Seems like there are good reasons for Ford to keep that plant open. Of course, there are those reasons listed why Ford would close it. But I'm trying to stay positive! Ford plan may idle workers here By Gregory Cancelada ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 01/22/2006 (P-D) For the last four years, Ford Motor Co.'s volatile fortunes have whipsawed workers at the assembly plant in Hazelwood. Now they're bracing for another shock Monday, when Ford announces its "Way Forward" restructuring plan. Analysts say Ford could shut as many as five assembly plants - shaving roughly 25 percent of its current production capacity - and a number of parts factories. But these cutbacks would solve only part of the automaker's problems, they note. Of Ford's 18 assembly plants in North America, analysts have identified six as vulnerable to closure: Hazelwood; Atlanta; Wixom, Mich.; St. Paul, Minn.; Cuautitlan, a suburb of Mexico City; and St. Thomas, Ontario. Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Hazelwood would be among at least 10 assembly and parts plants that will close. Advertisement Monday's announcement won't affect only the 1,445 workers and managers at the plant. Auto supplier Lear Corp. employs more than 200 workers in a separate Hazelwood facility to make seats for the sport utility vehicles assembled locally. Ford's plan might not be final. Under the existing labor agreement with the United Auto Workers, the company can't close any plants during this contract, which expires in September 2007. A plant and its workers can be idled through the end of the contract, but Ford can't move a product line to another facility or take other closure actions until the UAW signs off. In the past, Ford has shown flexibility with closures, such as reversing an earlier decision to close Hazelwood or transforming a closed Canadian truck plant into a $1-billion flexible manufacturing facility. But analysts say a deteriorating financial outlook has reduced its ability to be flexible. Declining market share and the sudden loss in popularity of Ford's truck-based SUVs have left it with too many North American factories and workers to operate efficiently and profitably. Last year, those plants operated at 79 percent of capacity, down from 86 percent in 2004, according to automotive consulting firm Harbour Inc. In contrast, overtime and strong demand pushed Toyota's North American capacity utilization to 111 percent last year. Industry analysts say Ford needs to raise capacity utilization to at least 90 percent to be profitable. Even the St. Thomas plant, whose future seemed secure a month ago, may be on the cutting board. As a result of a labor agreement struck four months ago with the Canadian Auto Workers, Ford committed to invest about $170 million in the St. Thomas plant, where the Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford Crown Victoria sedans are built. But the CAW president told the Detroit Free Press last week that he is worried Ford might close the facility instead. The Hazelwood plant does offer a key benefit to Ford: a productive work force. From 2002 to 2004, the plant reduced by 13 percent the labor hours needed to assemble the SUVs made there: the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer. It is the second most-efficient midsize SUV plant in North America, according to the 2005 Harbour Report. For the last two years, it has beaten its sister facility in Louisville, Ky., which also makes the Explorer and Mountaineer. And the Hazelwood plant received in December Ford's coveted President's Award for Best in Quality. Another factor in Hazelwood's favor: It's cheaper to close a plant in Michigan or another location with clusters of Ford plants, where the company can transfer workers. If the closest plant is too far away - as is the case with Hazelwood - workers can't be forced to transfer. In that case, eligible workers could continue to receive base pay and benefits during the duration of the contract, unless Ford offered early retirement and buyout packages. Less flexible But like many of Ford's other plants, Hazelwood has some serious drawbacks. The biggest one may be timing. It appears Ford will close plants that make vehicles that are near the end of their production cycles. In the case of the Atlanta plant, the automaker plans to end production this summer of the Taurus passenger cars made there. The Hazelwood plant builds the Mountaineer and Explorer, vehicles that should continue to be produced in coming years. But combined sales have dropped so much in the last year that the work could be consolidated at Louisville, Ford's main midsize SUV plant. In fact, Hazelwood faces the prospect of being idled through 2007 if Ford decides immediate consolidation makes sense. Over the last 13 months, it has been idled 13 weeks because of slumping SUV demand. Meanwhile, Hazelwood and other older plants have trailed Ford's effort to modernize the way it builds cars. Historically, automakers built plants to assemble a particular model or type of vehicle, dedicating much of the tooling to a specific design. When introducing a new model or vehicle, a lot of the equipment must be replaced. In contrast, Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. developed flexible manufacturing systems that rely heavily on programmable robots. Such plants can make several different models on a single production line, which means a company can nimbly change its mix to meet consumer demand. So when a car platform rolls down an assembly line, it quickly becomes a sports wagon or a sedan, depending on which parts are used. This also gives Toyota and Honda the ability to tweak models without the massive retooling that older plants need. In recent years, Ford has been investing heavily in flexible manufacturing plants, hoping to catch up with rivals. Since opening last year, the Chicago assembly plant builds the Ford Five Hundred sedan and the Ford Freestyle and Mercury Montego sports wagons, using the same car platform for all three. Later this year, its Hermosillo, Mexico, plant will make the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr on a single line. But converting plants into flexible manufacturing facilities is expensive. Ford plans to invest $1 billion in its Oakville assembly plant, which will start producing the new Lincoln MKS and Ford Edge crossovers later this year. Both will use the same car platform but appear distinctive. Even if Hazelwood ends up on the proposed closure list, state and local officials vow to work with Ford and convince it that there are good business reasons to keep the plant open. Still, removing any plant from the closure list will be difficult because other communities are banging on Ford's door and the company's own economic future is uncertain. "Regardless of how appealing a (state incentive) package may be, Ford won't need this capacity in the future, and cuts will have be made somewhere," said Catherine Madden, an auto production analyst at Global Insight Inc. of Waltham, Mass. Possible Ford closure targets Plant Opened Products Employees Hazelwoood 1948 Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer 1,450 St. Paul, Minn. 1947 Ford Ranger, Mazda-B series compact pickups 2,000 Cuautitlan, Mexico 1970 Ford F-Series pickups, Ikon car 900 Atlanta 1925 Ford Taurus car 2,000 Wixom, Mich. 1957 Lincoln LS, Town Car cars; Ford GT race cars 1,600 St. Thomas, Canada 1967 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis cars 2,600 Source: Ford Motor Co.

I am also a spouse of a ford worker that works at one of the plants that might be closed. It's our second round at this too. It sucks. My hubby has almost 12 yrs. in, and no college degree to fall back on. I stay home with our children and watch some friends children to help make ends meet. I don't have a degreeor any kind of training to go out and get a better job if his plant does close. We have 3 young children at home, one with health issues, and I also have a mediacal conditon that would make it almost impossibe to get new health insurance. We can't afford to lose his job, but mostly we can't afford to lose the health insurance. I'm trying to stay positive, and hold out hope, but it's so hard. I try not to let hubby see how stressed I am over this. He is worried enough. I'm praying for all the workers and their families that we will all be okay. Thanks to the wife that started this thread. And to Trimdingman, your granddaughter will also be in my prayers, and our church members. God bless all of us in need of a miracle!

And why should we believe that you know what you are talking about? Why would you be privy to more info than the rest of us? Are you psychic? Are you Bill Ford? Oh wait. I know. You are God.

The rumor here is that old Billy boy will be at SLAP to make the announcement. Whoever believes that is going to be dissappointed in my opinion. I don't think little Billy will be anywhere near any of the plants. I think he's too scared of the employees he plans on screwing.