Hold On To Your Hats: Ford Super Duty Production Shuts Down
Ford didn’t mince words in a statement issued regarding the UAW strike at its Kentucky Truck plant.
Ford didn’t mince words in a statement issued regarding the UAW strike at its Kentucky Truck plant, which commenced Wednesday. “The decision by the UAW to call a strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant is grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership’s stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through reputational damage and industrial chaos.”
On October 3, the automaker made what it called an outstanding offer that included record pay, benefits, and paid time off. Permanent employees would receive more than a 20-percent wage increase, upgraded health care coverage with no increase in premiums, and up to five weeks of vacation per year (along with an average of 17 paid holidays).
Today, it appears that the time for talk between Ford and the UAW is over with, at least for now. “The UAW leadership’s decision to reject this record offer—which the UAW has publicly described as the best offer on the table—and strike Kentucky Truck Plant, carries serious consequences for our workforce, suppliers, dealers, and commercial customers.”
“The decision by the UAW is all the more wrongheaded given that Ford is the only automaker to add UAW jobs since the Great Recession and assemble all of its full-size trucks in America.”
Kentucky Truck is Ford’s largest plant, not to mention one of the largest automotive factories in the world. The Super Duty, Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator are produced here and generate $25 billion in annual revenue. Put bluntly, Kentucky Truck Plant is (by far) Ford’s most profitable operation. Some 8,700 plant workers will be immediately impacted due to the strike, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg… The halt in production will jeopardize nearly a dozen additional Ford operations and supplier networks, which together employ more than 100,000 people.
If you or someone you know is one of the tens of thousands of Ford customers waiting on a build date for a new Super Duty, spread this news far and wide. Unfortunately your wait just became exponentially longer.
