Ford Reaches Tentative Contract with UAW

Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers union (UAW) have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year labor contract covering approximately 41,000 UAW-represented employees in the United States.

The agreement comes a month after the UAW successfully negotiated a new contract with General Motors. The UAW reached a tentative agreement with GM on Sept. 16. The agreement was ratified by UAW members with a 2:1 ratio on Sept. 28.  The UAW’s current contract with Chrysler Group LLC has been extended, and negotiations continue.

The UAW represents approximately 41,000 hourly and salary workers at 27 Ford assembly and manufacturing facilities in the United States.

The agreement, which is subject to ratification by UAW members, calls for adding 12,000 hourly jobs in Ford’s U.S. manufacturing facilities through 2015. The new jobs commitment includes additional in-sourcing from Mexico, China and Japan, and is nearly double the company’s previous commitment to add jobs in the U.S.

The agreement also includes $16 billion in U.S. investments, including $6.2 billion for Ford plants in the U.S., all to design, engineer and produce more new and upgraded vehicles and components by 2015.

“This tentative agreement adds another 5,750 new jobs to communities across America where people have been struggling to recover from our nation’s economic turmoil,” said UAW President Bob King. “These new UAW jobs mean more than 12,000 new jobs in total with jobs previously announced by Ford. Many of these jobs will be added by the end of 2012, and all will be added during the term of the new contract. Last week, the UAW and General Motors Co. announced the creation of 6,400 jobs at GM. The American auto industry is on its way back.”

Ford has been an industry leader in quality, earning top awards in quality and dependability in the 2011 J.D. Power vehicle study and it fortunes have improved dramatically in recent years.

“We are pleased that, by working together with the UAW, we reached a deal that is fair to our employees and that improves Ford’s competitiveness in the U.S.,” said John Fleming, Ford’s executive vice president of global manufacturing and labor affairs. “This agreement allows us to make even more progress on our One Ford plan and our focus on the great products, stronger business and better world that will deliver continued profitable growth for all.”

Highlights of the agreement:

• Ford commits to add 12,000 hourly jobs in its U.S. manufacturing facilities by 2015, including in-sourcing from Mexico, China and Japan; this is 5,750 hourly jobs more than the previously announced 7,000 U.S. positions to be added by year-end 2012.
• Ford pledges to invest $16 billion in the U.S. – including $6.2 billion for U.S. plants – to design, engineer and produce more new and upgraded vehicles and components by 2015.
• The new jobs and investment commitments in the UAW-Ford tentative agreement are contingent upon ratification of the agreement by the UAW membership.