2008 Woodie Awards
Ford to close local plant; 1,800 jobs to be lost
The Highland Park plant in St. Paul, which produces the Ranger, is one of many plants to close as Ford looks to eliminate 30,000 jobs nationwide
By: Ari Ofsevit
Issue date: 4/21/06 Section: News
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Two miles south of campus, everything is named after one entity: the Ford Bridge, Ford Parkway, the Ford Dam. Last Thursday, Ford announced that the Twin Cities Ford Assembly plant, after which all these are named, will close after 80 years in business, leaving 160 acres of prime real estate vacant when the plant is idled in 2008.
The decision was not a complete surprise—Ford announced several other plant closures in January and there have been rumors of the local plant closing since then. It produces the Ford Ranger pickup truck, and built the Model T when it opened in 1924.
Ford plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs nationwide in the next six years. The company's sales, along with those of other major American car makers, have declined in recent years, a condition many blame on a lack of innovation.
The Ranger has been especially prone to sales declines, with only 120,000, less than a third of production a few years ago, sold in the late 1990s. “Ford has not spent money to redesign the Ranger in 14 years, they've let it die on the vine,” Bob Killeen, the Secretary-Treasurer of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 879, said.
He said that Ford has done nothing to advance technology, such as redesigning the truck for alternative fuels or as a hybrid. “They made their millions and billions off it and let it die,” Killeen said, adding that the workers are paying the price for the lack of development.
Gas prices have spiked recently, but Killeen does not attribute much of the decline in sales to this. “It is a small pickup and gets fairly decent mileage. It is a stale, old vehicle which hasn't been facelifted,” he said. “The F-Series [a larger, less fuel-efficient truck] is selling like crazy.”
Killeen said that 800,000 F-Series trucks have been sold this year. Ford is also closing a plant in Norfolk, Va., which produces the F-Series.
The decision was not a complete surprise—Ford announced several other plant closures in January and there have been rumors of the local plant closing since then. It produces the Ford Ranger pickup truck, and built the Model T when it opened in 1924.
Ford plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs nationwide in the next six years. The company's sales, along with those of other major American car makers, have declined in recent years, a condition many blame on a lack of innovation.
The Ranger has been especially prone to sales declines, with only 120,000, less than a third of production a few years ago, sold in the late 1990s. “Ford has not spent money to redesign the Ranger in 14 years, they've let it die on the vine,” Bob Killeen, the Secretary-Treasurer of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 879, said.
He said that Ford has done nothing to advance technology, such as redesigning the truck for alternative fuels or as a hybrid. “They made their millions and billions off it and let it die,” Killeen said, adding that the workers are paying the price for the lack of development.
Gas prices have spiked recently, but Killeen does not attribute much of the decline in sales to this. “It is a small pickup and gets fairly decent mileage. It is a stale, old vehicle which hasn't been facelifted,” he said. “The F-Series [a larger, less fuel-efficient truck] is selling like crazy.”
Killeen said that 800,000 F-Series trucks have been sold this year. Ford is also closing a plant in Norfolk, Va., which produces the F-Series.
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