Ford Says Ratified Contract Will Mean Flexibility and Jobs

DEARBORN (WWJ) Ford is touting the new, ratified deal with the UAW as a deal that will make the company more competitive, and allow it to hire new workers.

"With adding 12,000 jobs, obviously the majority of them are going to be additions," said Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields, in an interview with WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert.

While 12,000 jobs will be added during the life of the four-year deal, some were from projects that were announced beforehand. Ford says about 5,700 of those jobs are directly related to the new contract.

INTERVIEW: Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields talks about the new, ratified, deal with the UAW.

That includes a new shift at the company's Flat Rock plant, that will add Fusion production to the Mustang that's already built there. Michigan Assembly, which builds the Focus, will also get a new shift.

"Our sales have been somewhat constrained by availability of products," said Fields. "So, when we add that next shift, part of it will be to alleviate that constrained position, and allow us to grow our Focus sales."

Fields also said the new shift will allow them to build the new electric version of the Focus, and an upcoming plug in hybrid.

Ford executives had held off on talking much about the new deal until now, as they didn't want to do anything that could hurt the ratification vote. On Wednesday, the UAW announced that the deal had been approved, with a 63 percent margin.

The new deal is expected to mean an upgrade in Ford's credit rating and may mean help the company's stock price, which has fallen recently after peaking earlier this year.

Fields says those would be good developments, but it's up to those who work at the company to concentrate on doing their jobs.

"Our job is to make sure we stay really focused on the business, and show profitable growth."

Next week Ford will announce its third quarter financial results.

No word when Ford will start adding workers. Fields says about 300 workers on layoff will be brought back first. Then, workers at Automotive Components Holdings—old Visteon plants—will have the opportunity to transfer back to Ford plants.

The new workers will get the lower, entry level wage. But, Fields says after years of cutbacks, it's good to be in a growth mode.

"It's really an exciting time to be hiring again, and growing our ranks."

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