iluvnascar

I just watched the video link posted on this site re the 2020 Escape - disturbing to hear that the 2020 Escape is 2" wider; and 4" wider when considering the exterior mirrors! That means it will not fit through the garage door of the condos that my two kids have. Even their present Escape (2018) leaves minimal margin for error (or carelessness)! Is the 4" quoted in the video accurate?

Do you have any info on the "Partial" 3rd shift. Exactly what does a "Partial" 3rd shift mean? Would it be Body Shop adding a 3rd shift? or something else? And when (best guess) would you expect it to happen???

Can anyone give me the phone number for Payroll in Oakville (likely located at Central Office Building)?

Believe it or not.....I did Google it......but never found the link you provided. Thank You! Now if I can just find Canadian sales.......and U.S. production numbers..............

I'm looking for sales numbers for 2007, 2008, and 2009 for Hyundai and Kia. I'd like Canada as well as U.S........and I'd also like to know how many vehicles were assembled in the US for each of those years. Any ideas as to where to find the numbers would be much appreciated!

What's wrong with a 3-day weekend every week? Looks like a great idea. And as 2011 approaches, an extra day/week to go job-hunting.

I totally agree. There are a lot of smart politicians out there.....and so I'm sure they know what's happening.....but I think they have absolutely no idea how to turn it around. The signs are everywhere....high unemployment, plant closures, low consumer confidence, lousy retail sales (reflecting lack of confidence)......and perhaps most indicatively, a rapidly growing wage gap between private sector (outsourcing, concessions, closures, etc) and the public sector (no competition, weak-kneed politicians, unlimited revenue - a.k.a. taxes, unfair bargaining power by holding consumers hostage and taking advantage of monopolistic conditions). According to a detailed study of 2006 census results, the average public sector job now pays 30% more than the comparable private sector job.....and the gap is growing. If you want a high-paying job with a pension and job security.....you gotta work for the Government....ANY Government!

Not that I'm a real Jack Layton fan.....he really has his head on a little straighter than most of the politicos that offer a lot of words that never say anything. Believe it or not, the Plant can be saved.....but not as a Ford plant. There are other ways that this could (should) be handled....but it's essentially out of Ford's hands and in the hands of Government. The only question is whether or not Government wants to continue to see manufacturing decimated in Ontario. So far, the answer is yes.

The goverment has carried out the plan of the WTO in having 2 classes of working stiffs the min wage earner and the dirty rotten rich white collar. We actually have three classes now......the average Joe who toils for $10-$15 per hour as jobs at Walmart, Home Depot, and similar chain stores grow through reliance on imports from China; the dirty rotten rich white collar executives and Wall Street aces; and Government workers who have no competition; no outsourcing; no downsizing; increasing demand for services; and spineless Governments willing to pay usurious levels of wages and benfits by taxing the hell out of Joe & Jane Average Worker.

It's unfortunate that so many here choose to badmouth rogerbrian who is just telling it like it is. Over the next decade, plants will continue to close regardless of wage concessions. Unfortunately, workers could accept zero and the auto companies would still be forced to move production overseas and/or enter joint ventures with Korean/Indian/Chinese companies. It's a matter of survival for the shareholders because that's the way capitalism works. The US is a consumer-based economy (unfortunately) and price rules. Everything needs to get cheaper and cheaper because that's what the politicians tell the people that they want. By 2011, Ford will have only one assembly plant in Canada.....yet through just nine months of 2009, Hyundai Canada and its 39% owned subsidiary, Kia, have sold 119,048 vehicles.......none of which were assembled in Canada. That's an annualized level of 159 thousand vehicles.....which equates to a full year of 40 units per hour on two shifts at a plant like St. Thomas. Hyundai and Kia also sold 580,787 units in the US through September.......an annualized rate of 774 thousand vehicles in what is universally recognized as a terrible sales year! (Note: Hyundai has one U.S. assembly plant). Hyundai/Kia is just one of the companies that is shipping into the North American market and displacing North American jobs. And the politicians couldn't care less. Chinese vehicles will be coming to North America in the next few years; and cars from India - econoboxes - will arrive before the Chinese vehicles. And don't forget Mexico which keeps building more and more vehicles for the US and Canada. I hate it..........bu that's the way it is and it will get worse. The only thing that wage concessions and contract modifications do is slow down the process........but that's very important if you are a middle-aged worker hoping to earn a full pension.

St. Thomas has been dead meat for the last three years. The only question was when. There is no product to put at the plant...............in such a dire situation, the Company and the UNion have done the best job that anyone could reasonably expect. If you want something else at the plant, it will have to be one of those offshore companies that simp,y ships into Canada and adds nothing to the local economy........like Hyundai/Kia. Start calling your MP's and MPP's. Those guys are totally flat on their ass and have done NOTHING to improve the lot of the manufacturing indutstry in canada. They all ought to work at Walmart for a month and see what their efforts have accomplished.

If you hear of a way to hide the STEP, I'd love to hear about it. I know that the pension can be transferred to a special locked-in Self-Directed RSP (or left with Ford). But the $130,000 (including the car voucher) is exposed except for the amount that can be transferred to an RRSP. But if you have been contributing to your RRSP on a regular basis, you may not be able to transfer anything significant. And if you get the money in late 2011, you will be in a high tax bracket and the marginal tax will likely be in the 45% range. Ken Lewenza should have negotiated payment of severance in 2012 (at the employee's option). that would save a whole lot of tax. Meanwhile, our politcos could solve the problem but they won't...they don't give a hoot about auto workers.

I'm glad that the employees will still receive their earned pension credits.....I was concerned that the STEP payment would include any and all financial obligations of Ford including the accrued pension. With reference to pension safety, it seems to me that by the time it happens in two years, the Government will have some knind of pension protection in place. If not.....you may be right that it might be best to transfer it to a locked-in self-administered RRSP.....although not everyone is equipped to manage such an important piece of cash

Re the STEP (Special Termination of Employment) applicable to those who are NOT retirement eligible and who have 8 or more years of service.... I understand that there is a cash payment and a vehicle voucher......but will such employees also receive the accrued value of their Ford Pension Plan and be able to transfer it to a special Locked-In RRSP?

It's not surprising that St. Thomas is closing....after all, there is no product for the plant after the death of the CV/GM line. But where is the effort to find SOMETHING for the Plant to keep people working and the economy moving? Through just nine months of 2009, Hyundai Canada and its 39% owned subsidiary, Kia, have sold 119,048 vehicles.......none of which were assembled in Canada. That's an annualized level of 159 thousand vehicles.....which equates to a full year of 40 units per hour on two shifts at a plant like St. Thomas. Hyundai and Kia also sold 580,787 units in the US through September.......an annualized rate of 774 thousand vehicles in what is universally recognized as a terrible sales year! These numbers will undoubtedly go much higher as market conditions improve. (Note: Hyundai has one U.S. assembly plant). If we are, indeed, intent on maintaining employment for the St. Thomas crew and helping the local (and national) economy, our political leaders (if any of them is interested?) need to speak frankly with Hyundai/Kia management and encourage them to strike a deal with Ford and take over the Ford St. Thomas Plant. Ford is a responsible employer and I am sure that they would want to minimize the impact of any closure........and what better way to do that than to keep the Plant operating with a new owner? Armed with a competitive labour agreement courtesy of the CAW and the affected employees; and with $1.0-$1.5 Billion in forgiveable interest-free loans, I believe the Hyundai/Kia could be brought on board. Admittedly, $1.5 Billion is a lot of money but it's far less than Canada handed to Chrysler and GM; and it's far less than we will wind up paying in EI benefits, welfare payments, bankruptcy filings, and incalculable social and economic collateral damage. But alas....there isn't one politician out there who is interested in actually doing something proactive. So down the drain goes 1600 jobs and another 12-15000 spinoff jobs. Tragic is too simple a word to describe the end result.