With many of the nuts-and-bolts elements of a deal agreed upon over the weekend, Gettelfinger according to The Detroit News has joined the talks in hopes of saving some domestic plants. Ford has committed to closing 16 North American facilities by 2012, but the company is yet to identify all of the plants on the block. Sources say the company is open to keeping some of those plants open in return for a more favorable contract.
Neither side is talking publicly about the negotiations now, but there is some optimism that there could be some sort of resolution in the days to come. It remains to be seen if the UAW will call for a strike, as it did with General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, to help push the sides to complete a deal.
Ford, which lost more than $10 billion last year, is seen as the most vulnerable of the domestic automakers. The company, which has warned it expects to lose billions more in the next few years as it works on a transformation, is expected to push for concessions the union gave its rivals including a union-managed trust to fund retiree healthcare and a two-tiered wage structure for new hires. — Lou Whiteman
See Detroit News story
See TheDeal.com story on Ford's situation
