UAW Says Ford Cuts Didn’t Have to Happen

Nearly one in four workers at Ford Motor Co. will lose their jobs under a massive restructuring announced Jan. 23. The nation’s second-largest automaker announced plans to close 14 plants and eliminate 30,000 jobs over the next six years.

But it didn’t have to come to this, said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Gerald Bantom. “The restructuring plan announced this morning by Ford is extremely disappointing and devastating news for the many thousands of hard-working men and women who have devoted their working lives to Ford,” they said. “The impacted hourly and salaried workers find themselves facing uncertain futures because of senior management’s failure to halt Ford’s sliding market share.”

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says that the evisceration of middle-class jobs is the biggest crisis facing the nation and should spur the drive to organize.

“Our elected officials have a role to play,” Sweeney said. “Now is the time to enact a national health care plan that will provide the affordable, quality health care working families need, while helping companies compete in the global marketplace.”

Ford’s announcement follows General Motors’ statement in June that it was eliminating up to 30,000 jobs in eight years.