Ford to offer heftier retirement packages (good news and bad)

Filed under Income in Trades, Skilled Trades, Unions

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Ford is in the process of implementing richer buyouts for early retirement packages offered to skilled laborers and production workers. The news has a bad side, too, of course, in that it indicates that the company is intent on ‘asking’ more staff to leave the company.

This has been a tough year for auto manufacturers (and others) of course and if Ford announces lower-than-expected profits (as is predicted) severance package offers may be made within the next few weeks.

If they can lose some of their high-priced, late-career skilled laborers they can hire younger people at much lower wages, “a starting rate of $14.20 per hour, or about half the salary of outgoing UAW workers.” This lower rate was secured in the terms of Ford’s recent contract with the UAW.

Previous buyouts were set around $35,000 but Ford plans to offer production workers an early-retirement lump sum of $50,000 and skilled workers as much as $70,000. If you want the full story, read it here.