Ford strikes deal to keep 6 plants open

Ford Motor Co will keep six plants open and pay $15.4 billion to create a retiree healthcare fund under an agreement United Auto Workers officials approved on Monday (local time), clearing the way for a rank-and-file vote.

Ford had planned to shut 16 North American plants, while identifying only 10 of them. The remaining factories will be kept open, and Ford committed to build new vehicles at several facilities, the union said in a contract summary. UAW local officials approved the accord unanimously, said Chris Kimmons, a delegate from Local 919 in Norfolk, Virginia.

"It's not an agreement someone can love but it's one the workers can live with," said Gary Chaison, a labor professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. "Given the circumstances, I don't think many Ford workers can expect more."

Ford, the second-largest US-based automaker, is the last of the three domestic companies to reach an agreement with the UAW. Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford lost a record $12.6 billion last year and is in its second restructuring plan since 2002. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally sought an accord that trims labor costs, while the union tried to preserve jobs.

The agreement is similar to contracts UAW members at General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC already have ratified. The US-based automakers have said they needed to narrow a labor-cost gap with US plants run by Asian competitors such as Toyota and Honda.

"We wanted to have job security and investment," union President Ron Gettelfinger told reporters after a meeting in Dearborn of UAW officials from Ford plants. "We have no doubt Ford will survive."

Gettelfinger said he expects members at Ford to begin voting today and conclude by 6 pm next Monday.

Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman, declined to comment about the union summary or details of the agreement.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 11/07/2007 page16)