Ford to invest up to $9.2 bln in Mexico: report

[Eugene]

Ford to invest up to $9.2 bln in Mexico: report
Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:31pm ET

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co., which is slashing jobs and closing plants
in the United States as it seeks to return its North American operations
to profitability, is preparing to invest up to $9.2 billion in Mexico to leverage
its low operating costs there, a Michigan newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Oakland Press, a Detroit-area newspaper, said the investment was detailed in a
confidential, 28-page document turned over to it by a Ford employee.

The document, part of which had been prepared for a presentation in early April
to officials from the Mexican government, said Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, could
invest a total of $9.2 billion in Mexico over a six-year period from 2006 to 2012,
according to the newspaper.

Ford spokesman Oscar Suris declined to comment on the report, calling it "speculative."

The newspaper said a second source familiar with Ford operations vouched for the authenticity
of the document, "which suggested the automaker's investment could potentially create up to
150,000 jobs in Mexico within the next decade."

<snip>

Full article: http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-06-14T163116Z_01_N14226570_RTRUKOC_0_US-AUTOS-FORD-MEXICO.xml

[Tight_rope]

1. Is this suppose to keep the Mexican's in Mexico...

or are American's going to have to go to Mexico to get a job.

[havocmom]

2. Not as many rules for businesses in Mexico

Worker protection, environmental protection, lots of ways to save $$ besides just payroll.

[denverbill]

3. Why don't they just put the factories on the US side of the border?

Then they could hire Mexican illegals for $5.15/hr to do the jobs Americans don't want to do.

On the plus side, I'm certain we'll be seeing a huge drop in the cost of a Ford automobile now. </sarcasm>.

[juajen]

4. Boy, cutting off our legs and stabbing us in the back

shouldn't hurt much, does it? Can you say, "Boycott Ford?"

[stepnw1f]

5. Corporations Have NO ALLEGIANCE to the US

at least not this one. Just as the GOP has no allegiance, just rhetoric.

[Bacchus39]

17. exactly, but they are very loyal to the US dollar

n/t

[jseankil]

6. Can't blame Ford, blame the unfair trade laws. /nm

nm

[kcass1954]

7. And the Ford guy I work for can't figure out why I bought a Toyota instead

of an "American" car...

[MindPilot]

11. I worked for Ford for 20 years

I drive a Nissan.

[blues90]

8. I blame ford

They cut out a lot of american jobs because according to the ford rep sent out to the dealership I last worked , they make more cars and trucks they can sell , it's over saturated . Ford stood there and said there are many other manufacture res making cars just as good as ford so the market is narrow .

They began with good old Henry Fords success story but left out what sort of man Ford really was .

It's all about money and the cost of insurance and this is because ford has older long term employees who cost more per car to insure , so they decided to abandon the long term workers who made ford what it is today and lie and move to mexico . Screw ford and screw all the auto manufacturers , all of them do nothing but help the oil companies ruin the environment and support death for oil . I don't care how down home and friendly their adds appear to be , they are corporate liars who care nothing for the people and all for themselves just like all major corporations . Just like Michigan let the auto workers suffer poverty and GM , Ford continue to do .

See the USA in your Chevrolet , Pat Goone , lets hear you sing it now but you will have to re-write the melody , and don't forget the leather vest you primate .

[MindPilot]

10. Welcome to DU! Another former Ford Dealer employee here.

You're right, they simply failed to follow the market. The American car business showed some signs of hope in the mid eighties and into the nineties, but then they just lost it. Mediocre design, lackluster styling and quality went back down. I seriously doubt if it will return this time.

[blues90]

18. You are right on

I worked as a tech and then a shop foreman /asst service manager . They had problems with EVERYTHING . All sorts of noises and engines that failed in less than 1,000 miles or knocked and had patch solutions that did nothing except piss customers off , especially when they looked at their payment book . I heard more about how much it cost them than anything else and many didn't want the junk fixed ,they wanted a replacement which you know didn't happen easy . People used to come in with a bag of fallen off plastic parts for me to put back on after figuring out where they went .

I needed the job but now even though I'm broke and jobless right now I'm glad I was fired by their new takeover management team , all re pubs and ignorant con artists . And I couldn't take being screamed at 11 hours a day by pissed off customers , ones ford would never talk to with their hide the ford reps policy .

[MindPilot]

26. Dealer that really try to do right by the customer are few and far between

I was lucky enough to spend a a majority of my career at one of them. But no matter how hard you try to provide good service and take care of the customers they still consider you lower than whale shit--you know just like management does.

I've been out of it for about 15 years now--hurt my back and couldn't do it anymore after the surgery--and I am profoundly grateful that I no longer have to have day-to-day contact with the motoring public. I've been screamed at, cursed, shoved, punched, and slapped. I've been threated with arrest, gunshot, stabbing and named in lawsuits more times than I can count. One customer came in and pointed a gun at me because his car wasn't done when he thought it should be. And that was AFTER I'd spent a good part of the day on the phone getting Ford to cover his cracked block out of warranty.

Good to meet you dude, PM me and we can swap horror stories.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. God forbid that Ford should invest in a third-world country called

Flint, Michigan, a city it helped to create and destroy through neglect.

[Kolesar]

12. That was GM

Big wave to all the gratuitous GM, Ford & Chrysler bashers on this thread :hi: Knew I'd find ya here. Present company excepted.

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Error acknowledged. Thank you. n/t

[Kolesar]

16. Michael Moore made a classic film about Flint

"Roger and Me"

[anotherdrew]

13. most of America will look like a third worl country in 10 to 20 years

congratulation ignorant americans, you've let your greedy worthless leaders sell out your future for short term profit.

[KansDem]

19. Yeah? Well, gays won't be able to marry, so there!

:sarcasm:

[anotherdrew]

23. yes, at least we'll have that satisfaction as we drown in our own filth

I've honestly thinking this country is done, stick a fork in it.

oh wait, I hope that's not terorism, calling for a fork to be stuck in america, that was just a joke NSA.

[VegasWolf]

15. Hey, they are just moving jobs that AmeriKans won't do.

:puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke:

[Blue_Tires]

20. less and less jobs for the UAW

[marjorieann]

21. Already

there are Ford Dealerships throughout Mexico, but how the Mexican people can even afford these vehicles is beyond me. Unless they come in with cash, the rates for financing are between 25 - 34 %, and no warranties are offered. Mexico also recently gave up the rights to the German VW, the Pueblo Plant is down. This bewilders me, Mexico was pumping out the old VW engines and parts like crazy up until just a couple years back. Although not streamlined, there is nothing like a brand new air cooled VW engine.

What Ford needs to do is invest in hybrids, and corner the market on those, and produce them in the USA.

Yes, it is true that Ford can produce in Mexico, already they do with various parts, and not have to meet environmental guidelines, plus the cheap labor force and tax incentives handed out by the Mexican Government...that is, if you are a Japanese Company.

This is such a complicated issue, and believe it or not, I for one am glad to see some American Industry down here. The reason? Here, check it out:

http://www.mexidata.info/id421.html

Unfortunately. foreign investors do not have to meet environmental & fair labor guidelines, American, or Japanese. Japan recently signed an accord with Mexico where Jaoan pays no taxes on her industry investments.

Hmmm...maybe Obrador will pull a win and just nationalize everything, now that would be interesting.

[marjorieann]

24. Just wanted to clarify

that the ford vehicles at the Ford Dealerships in Mexico are made in Mexico. A very popular truck, the "Lobo", is the same Ford 1500 ext. cab.

The safety requirements are different, more lax.

[Kolesar]

25. Trade agreements have driven Mexican farmers out of business

as US agribusiness undersold them. This has created displacement of rural Mexicans to the cities and to the United States.

[MindPilot]

27. The quality on the Mexican lines is really piss-poor.

I could always tell when I was working on a vehicle that rolled off a Mexican line. In many cases I could tell just looking at it. When you get things opened up, the evidence was really clear; ragged stampings, irregular welds, sealer skips, missing or incorrect fasteners, the list is endless. Ford claimed there was absolutely no difference in their procedures in each plant, but if you put a car that came off a Mexican line and one that came off a Detroit line side by side, it did not take an expert to tell them apart.

And as we all know the quality off the Detroit lines wasn't exactly spectacular.

[The Straight Story]

22. Maybe WE will be the ones crossing the border next....(nt)