Ford's Losses Narrow; Buyouts Planned - washingtonpost.com

Sure sign that the country is fucked, #63: bribe the workers so the scabs can be brought in. Now there is a sustainable model.

Ford's Losses Narrow; Buyouts Planned - washingtonpost.com: "Ford Motor Co., in the midst of a turnaround plan that has already seen it trim tens of thousands of workers from its payroll, has offered fresh buyouts to all of its unionized employees in an effort to cut costs further, the company announced today.

Ford was considered a candidate for bankruptcy a year ago when it posted 2006 losses of more than $12 billion and mortgaged its manufacturing plants and even its logo to raise operating cash.

The company said Thursday its losses narrowed substantially in 2007, to $2.7 billion, and that excluding one-time special costs it had earned a profit of $126 million before taxes.

But with U.S. economic growth dimming, Ford said it would continue trying to trim expenses, particularly labor costs, under the terms of its fall contract with the United Auto Workers.

Ford said today that it had reduced its number of workers by 32,800 in 2007, many of them through buyouts offered to union members.

Under terms of the contract, Ford is allowed to replace higher-paid workers with entry-level laborers who don't command the same hourly wages or benefits as union veterans.

While not specifying a targeted number of layoffs, Ford said the latest round of buyouts would be offered to all 54,000 unionized workers."